What are Pituitary and Parasellar Tumors?
Pituitary tumors are abnormal growths of cells found in the pituitary gland. They are not brain tumors. Benign tumors, called adenomas, are the most common cause of pituitary disorders. They grow slowly and do not spread to other parts of the body. Although they are not cancer, some pituitary tumors can cause harm because they compress and damage normal pituitary tissue, interfering with hormone production, thus causing the pituitary gland to produce excess or reduced levels of hormones—which in turn causes problems throughout the body. Some pituitary tumors grow large enough to press on or invade surrounding structures such as the optic nerve, causing loss of vision, for example. It is estimated that 10-25 percent of the US population has some form of small pituitary tumor, an adenoma 2-3mm, but most of these people suffer no ill effects from the tumor. Although they can occur in any age patient, most of the tumors are found in older people and are more common in women than in men. Th
