Preface: Pituitary Tumors Are More Frequent Than Previously Thought

The prevalence of clinically significant pituitary adenomas (PA) is increasing and now comprises approximately 16% of all primary cranial neoplasms. Prolactinomas (PRL-omas) and non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) are the most common PA types, followed by somatotroph (growth hormone; GH), corticotroph (adrenocorticotropic hormone; ACTH), and thyrotroph (thyroid stimulating hormone; TSH) adenomas. Frequently, treatment for functioning PA comprises surgery, medical therapy, and/or radiation. Several tumors are potentially more aggressive and require closer follow-up and/or multimodal therapy. Examples include sparsely granulated somatotroph adenoma, lactotroph adenoma in men, Crooke’s cell adenoma, silent corticotroph adenoma, and plurihormonal Pit-1-positive adenoma (previously called silent subtype III pituitary adenoma). New therapies for acromegaly and Cushing’s have been approved, and others are on the horizon in clinical trials.