What is a pituitary tumor? It's an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland which is a pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain. If you look at a drawing of the head, you'll see that it is behind the eyes under the optic nerves and the hypothalamus. Its function as the so-called master gland is to release hormones into the blood and to control the other glands of the body. It is controlled by the hypothalamus. It has three lobes, each with specific function, some of which include growth hormone, prolactin which stimulates production of milk after giving birth, skin darkening hormones, urine production, and others.
Pituitary tumors are rare (about 10% of brain tumors), and most are benign (not cancer). Only about 1 person in 10,000 develops a pituitary tumor, but women are more at risk. These tumors normally grow quite slowly and don't spread to other parts of the body. However, as they grow larger, they usually grow upward which puts pressure on the optic nerves and therefore causes visual problems.
Some pituitary tumors are non-functioning - they don't stimulate excessive hormone production.
But, depending on the part of the gland that is affected, this type of tumor may cause over-production of certain hormones which results in problems in other parts of the body. For example, Cushing's disease is caused by over-production of glucocorticoids. That causes fatty build-up in the face, back, and chest, while the limbs become too thin. There are other symptoms of Cushing's as well.
Symptoms of a pituitary tumor depend on the lobe affected, but in general there are headaches, visual impairment, and weakness. The tumor may push into the sinus cavity and create pressure on the trigeminal nerve which results in headaches, or headaches may be the result of too much or too little hormone production. Migraine, for example, may be the result of too little pituitary hormone.
Other symptoms of pituitary tumors are lack of milk production in a new mother, absence of menstrual periods when not pregnant, impotence in men or decreased sex drive, enlargement of the hands and feet, purplish marks on the skin, skin coarseness, and intolerance to cold. There are many other symptoms as well.
Diagnostic tests include blood and urine tests to determine hormone levels, vision testing, and x-rays. A skull x-ray may show bony changes around the gland, and a CT scan may show the tumor.
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