Pituitary incidentalomas: the clinical picture, diagnostics, differential diagnostics, and methods of treatment

Abstract

Incidentalomas are the most common neoplasms in the hypothalamic-pituitary region. Diagnostics, treatment strategy, and indications for the surgical intervention on the patients with these tumours pose a serious challenge for a wide circle of specialists. The diagnostic problems arise from the absence of the specific clinical signs and symptoms as well as the reliable biochemical markers of the disease. The modern laboratory methods do not allow to reveal the pathological hormonal secretion during the diagnostic study, predisposition of the neoplasm to the invasive and infiltrative growth, and signs of its «aggressiveness». This considerably complicates the choice of the optimal surgical strategy and the evaluation of the long-term results of the treatment. Bearing in mind the importance of the problem under consideration, the working group was set up for the development of federal recommendations on the treatment of pituitary incidentalomas based on the principles of evidence-based medicine. The experience accumulated by the domestic and international experts was summarized in the federal clinical guidelines on pituitary incidentalomas containing the available information about these neoplasms.