Therapeutic approach to non-functioning pituitary adenomas

Abstract

The treatment of non-functioning pituitary adenomas raises two questions: when should they be treated and what role does each available treatment play. We review the usefulness of the different treatments and propose a therapeutic scheme based on the existing literature.Active treatment of pituitary adenomas should be performed when they produce symptoms, have contact with the optic tract, or have grown on imaging tests. The treatment is surgical, using radiotherapy for cases with significant non-removable postsurgical tumour remnants and for those in which histopathology studies show aggressive features. Medical treatment is reserved for situations in which surgical and radiotherapy treatments have been exhausted.The most advisable surgical treatment is endoscopic, although experienced neurosurgeons achieve results with microsurgery that are only slightly inferior.