Endocrinopathy associated with pineal tumor.

Abstract

The diagnosis of tumor of the pineal seems eminently likely when the following clinical picture is present: the patient is a male in his late teens or early twenties who gives clinical and laboratory evidence of combined anterior and posterior pituitary insufficiency; his skull X ray shows calcification in the pineal region, and air study identifies a mass lesion deforming the third ventricular shadow, with or without evidence of internal hydrocephalus. On the basis of the case histories of 5 patients studied by the authors as well as 11 case histories abstracted from the literature, we have concluded that this clinical picture, which often develops before the onset of central nervous system or ophthalmologic symptoms or signs, may occur more commonly than has previously been recognized. The recognition of tumor of the pineal at an early stage, when only the endocrine, and not its other, more ominous manifestations are present, would seem to carry important implications for prognosis and therapy.