TY - JOUR
T1 - Prolactinomas and nonfunctioning adenomas
T2 - Preoperative diagnosis of tumor type using serum prolactin and tumor size
AU - Burke, William T.
AU - Penn, David L.
AU - Castlen, Joseph P.
AU - Donoho, Daniel A.
AU - Repetti, Caroline S.
AU - Iuliano, Sherry
AU - Barkhoudarian, Garni
AU - Laws, Edward R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©AANS 2020, except where prohibited by US copyright law
PY - 2020/8
Y1 - 2020/8
N2 - OBJECTIVE Prolactinoma and nonfunctioning adenoma (NFA) are the most common sellar pathologies, and both can present with hyperprolactinemia. There are no definitive studies analyzing the relationship between the sizes of prolactinomas and NFAs and the serum prolactin level. Current guidelines for serum prolactin level cutoffs to distinguish between pathologies are suboptimal because they fail to consider the adenoma volume. In this study, the authors attempted to describe the relationship between serum prolactin level and prolactinoma volume. They also examined the predictive value that can be gained by considering tumor volume in differentiating prolactinoma from NFA and provide cutoff values based on a large sample of patients. METHODS A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with prolactinomas (n = 76) and NFAs (n = 217) was performed. Patients were divided into groups based on adenoma volume, and the two pathologies were compared. RESULTS A strong correlation was found between prolactinoma volume and serum prolactin level (r = 0.831, p < 0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between NFA volume and serum prolactin level (r = −0.020, p = 0.773). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of three different adenoma volume groups was performed and resulted in different serum prolactin level cutoffs for each group. For group 1 (≤ 0.5 cm3), the most accurate cutoff was 43.65 mg/L (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.951); for group 2 (> 0.5 to 4 cm3), 60.05 mg/L (AUC = 0.949); and for group 3 (> 4 cm3), 248.15 mg/L (AUC = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS Prolactinoma volume has a significant impact on serum prolactin level, whereas NFA volume does not. This finding indicates that the amount of prolactin-producing tissue is a more important factor regarding serum prolactin level than absolute adenoma volume. Hence, volume should be a determining factor to distinguish between prolactinoma and NFA prior to surgery. Current serum prolactin threshold level guidelines are suboptimal and cannot be generalized across all adenoma volumes.
AB - OBJECTIVE Prolactinoma and nonfunctioning adenoma (NFA) are the most common sellar pathologies, and both can present with hyperprolactinemia. There are no definitive studies analyzing the relationship between the sizes of prolactinomas and NFAs and the serum prolactin level. Current guidelines for serum prolactin level cutoffs to distinguish between pathologies are suboptimal because they fail to consider the adenoma volume. In this study, the authors attempted to describe the relationship between serum prolactin level and prolactinoma volume. They also examined the predictive value that can be gained by considering tumor volume in differentiating prolactinoma from NFA and provide cutoff values based on a large sample of patients. METHODS A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with prolactinomas (n = 76) and NFAs (n = 217) was performed. Patients were divided into groups based on adenoma volume, and the two pathologies were compared. RESULTS A strong correlation was found between prolactinoma volume and serum prolactin level (r = 0.831, p < 0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between NFA volume and serum prolactin level (r = −0.020, p = 0.773). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of three different adenoma volume groups was performed and resulted in different serum prolactin level cutoffs for each group. For group 1 (≤ 0.5 cm3), the most accurate cutoff was 43.65 mg/L (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.951); for group 2 (> 0.5 to 4 cm3), 60.05 mg/L (AUC = 0.949); and for group 3 (> 4 cm3), 248.15 mg/L (AUC = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS Prolactinoma volume has a significant impact on serum prolactin level, whereas NFA volume does not. This finding indicates that the amount of prolactin-producing tissue is a more important factor regarding serum prolactin level than absolute adenoma volume. Hence, volume should be a determining factor to distinguish between prolactinoma and NFA prior to surgery. Current serum prolactin threshold level guidelines are suboptimal and cannot be generalized across all adenoma volumes.
KW - Nonfunctioning adenoma
KW - Pituitary adenoma
KW - Pituitary surgery
KW - Prolactinoma
KW - Transsphenoidal surgery
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090330908&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3171/2019.3.JNS19121
DO - 10.3171/2019.3.JNS19121
M3 - Article
C2 - 31200381
AN - SCOPUS:85090330908
SN - 0022-3085
VL - 133
SP - 321
EP - 328
JO - Journal of Neurosurgery
JF - Journal of Neurosurgery
IS - 2
ER -