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Minor Tumour Shrinkage in Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas by Long-Term Treatment with the Dopamine Agonist Cabergoline

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Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to define safety and efficacy of medical therapy in the treatment of nonfunctioning pituitary tumours.

Design: We studied thirteen patients with a clinically nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma for response to cabergoline treatment for 1 year. Twelve/13 patients were already operated and had residual or recurrent tumours.

Methods: We determined the outcome of treatment by visual perimetry, computed tumour size measurement in MRI and hormonal response (changes in pituitary function, reduction of α-subunit).

Results: Seven/13 patients on cabergoline had a tumour shrinkage above 10% of the initial tumour volume. In 4 patients, this tumour shrinkage was correlated to an increasing distance of the tumour to the optic chiasm. Only 2/9 patients with visual field defects before therapy showed improvements in visual acuity under cabergoline. No significant side effects of the therapeutical regimens were observed. Neither LH and/or FSH expression in the tumour cells nor the reduction of the α-subunit serum levels by medical therapy was correlated to tumour shrinkage.

Conclusion: Given that these patients had advanced disease which makes it difficult to find significant therapeutic effects, medical therapy with potent dopamine agonists such as cabergoline may evolve as a novel therapeutic option in a subgroup of patients with clinically nonfunctioning tumours declining operation and radiotherapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Internal Medicine III, University of Leipzig, Germany

    Tobias Lohmann & Ralf Paschke

  2. Departments of Neurosurgery, University of Leipzig, Germany

    Christoph Trantakis, Markus Biesold, Sascha Prothmann, Steffen Guenzel & Ralf Schober

Authors
  1. Tobias Lohmann
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  2. Christoph Trantakis
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  3. Markus Biesold
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  4. Sascha Prothmann
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  5. Steffen Guenzel
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  6. Ralf Schober
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  7. Ralf Paschke
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Lohmann, T., Trantakis, C., Biesold, M. et al. Minor Tumour Shrinkage in Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas by Long-Term Treatment with the Dopamine Agonist Cabergoline. Pituitary 4, 173–178 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015366923810

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015366923810

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