How dangerous is pituitary tumor?

Video content is professionally consulted by Dr., Doctor Tran Hoang Ngoc Anh - Department of General Surgery - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital

The human body works thanks to the endocrine glands, the conductor of the endocrine glands is the pituitary gland - a small structure located in the middle of the brain structure, the control center for all the endocrine glands in the body. such as thyroid gland, adrenal gland, gonads.

What is a pituitary tumor? A pituitary tumor is a prolactin-secreting or prolactin-secreting pituitary tumor. This is a condition in which a tumor located in the pituitary gland produces too much prolactin. This is the most common endocrine neoplasm that can develop in the pituitary gland. Are pituitary tumors dangerous?
Often patients will discover pituitary adenomas by chance or seek medical attention when they have symptoms.
Pituitary tumors have 2 lobes: anterior and posterior lobes. Normally, the lobe that rapidly grows into a pituitary tumor is the anterior lobe, which inserts into the posterior lobe structure, affecting the pituitary endocrine gland. The characteristics of pituitary tumors are benign, rarely turning malignant, divided into two types: secretory and non-secretory tumors.
A pituitary tumor will increase the pressure caused by a pituitary tumor, including symptoms such as headache, feeling heavy, decreased vision, decreased peripheral vision, changes in hormones produced by the pituitary gland output, increase pituitary activity... Pituitary tumors will also cause pituitary complications, symptoms are quite dangerous and seriously affect the health of the patient such as:
Large pituitary tumor will reduce hormone production function, causing hormone deficiency for the body's organs to function normally; Tumor causes increased secretion of adrenocortical hormone ACTH; Pituitary tumor causing increased secretion of growth hormone; The tumor secretes the hormone prolactin, leading to a decrease in sex hormone levels in both men and women; Pituitary tumors cause thyroid hormone secretion. Currently, there are many treatment options for patients with pituitary tumors. Patients can remove the tumor, control tumor growth, control the amount of hormones in the body by taking drugs, or wait for treatment to be monitored and prescribed by a doctor when it is really necessary and effective. fruit.
In order to effectively treat pituitary adenomas, the doctor's treatment indications for the patient will be based on the examination results, tumor type, tumor size, tumor growth in the brain, as well as age and health status of the patient. Current lung treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, medication, or a combination of these treatments help the pituitary gland return to normal hormone production.