Treatment of a refractory pituitary adenoma with temozolomide and literature review

Abstract

Objective To explore the effective treatment for refractory pituitary adenomas.Method Based on MGMT expression and sensitive test of the primary pituitary adenoma cells to temozolomide,we treated a refractory pituitary adenoma patient.Results MGMT expression in this case was at low level,and primary pituitary adenoma cells were sensitive to temozolomide in vitro.The tumor volume decreased after the first cycle temozolomide therapy.Conclusions Temozolomide may be a salvage therapy for those refractory pituitary adenomas with low MGMT expression. Key words: Pituitary adenoma ; Temozolomide ; MGMT ; Cell culture techniques ;