PITUITARY CARCINOMA

The presence of distant metastases may be asymptomatic in patients who present with symptoms and signs due to the local mass effects of an i nvasive pituitary adenoma. A case of pituitary carcinoma in a 54-year- old man who presented with widespread asymptomatic distant metastases 12 years after initial diagnosis is reviewed. The long course and asym ptomatic metastases suggested a relatively slow-growing malignancy. Th e factors that played a role in the pathogenesis of the metastasis are unknown. A review of the litera on pituitary carcinoma suggests that accurate diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach to management of s uch lesions emphasizing surgery, radiotherapy, and hormonal manipulati on may provide these patients with the longest and best quality of sur vival.