Pituitary tumor treatment

A pituitary tumor is a type of brain tumor that develops in the pituitary gland, a small gland located at the base of the brain that produces hormones that control many important functions in the body. Pituitary tumors can be either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) and can cause a range of symptoms depending on their size and location, including

• Headaches
• Vision problems
• Fatigue
• Mood changes
• Changes in menstrual periods or sexual function.

Treatment for pituitary tumors can vary depending on the type and size of the tumor, and may include surgery, radiation therapy, and medications.

Revolutionizing pituitary tumor treatment

With roughly 10,000 pituitary tumors diagnosed in the United States each year, our team is revolutionizing the treatment of benign pituitary tumors to allow patients to get back to their everyday routine as quickly as possible after removal. Depending on the size and hormone production of the tumor, treatment may include surgery, radiation therapy, and drug intervention.

Our team utilizes a multidisciplinary approach that combines patient management protocol with a less-invasive endovascular surgical technique during which surgeons enter through the nasal passage to remove the pituitary tumor. The patient management protocol emphasizes patient education, early mobilization, and scheduled inpatient and outpatient endocrine assessments that have been shown to decrease hospital stay, complications, and readmission. 

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center has one of the most active pituitary centers in the nation with published superior surgical outcomes. We safely discharge over 90 percent of our pituitary surgery patients after just one night in the hospital.

What does a pituitary tumor cause?

Utilizing the latest diagnostic tools and therapies, our multidisciplinary team of experts not only treats pituitary tumors, but also the secondary conditions that may accompany them. These conditions include:

• Acromegaly: a chronic disease characterized by excessive secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary gland
• Cushing's Disease: the overproduction of cortisol from the adrenal glands prompted by the excessive secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone from the pituitary gland
• Prolactinoma: a benign pituitary tumor that increases the secretion of the hormone prolactin