Abstract
The possible relationship between use of oral contraceptives and prolactin-secreting tumors is explored in this review which discusses the effects of estrogens on prolactin secretion and the association between pill use and pituitary tumors. Estrogens are known to both enhance and inhibit prolactin secretion depending on the dose and timing. Lower doses of estrogen tend to raise prolactin levels more so than do higher doses. Pituitary gland enlargement is common in pregnancy. Prolactin levels have been reported to rise during use of oral contraceptives but data are conflicting. Probably considering the pulsatile secretion of prolactin normalized data are needed to resolve this issue. Pituitary adenomas have been reported in pill users but the incidence of such adenomas is high 17% in anovulatory women. The terms pituitary tumor and adenoma may be inaccurate when mammotrope hyperplasia is really involved. It is recommended that women with irregular menses get a baseline prolactin level; that women with hyperprolactinemia be put on bromocriptine before prescribing oral contraceptives and that persons with known prolactinoma not be given exogenous estrogens.
Published Version
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