Adolescent Physiological Pituitary Gland Hypertrophy Transformed into a Prolactin-secreting Macroadenoma in Early Adulthood

抄録

The concept of physiological pituitary gland hypertrophy is well recognized in settings of increased physiological needs, such as pregnancy and puberty. However, it is very uncommon for it to transform into a neoplastic pituitary lesion in the form of a functioning or non-functioning pituitary adenoma. In this case report, we present a 24-year-old woman with an initial diagnosis in adolescence of physiological pituitary hypertrophy following neuroradiological evaluation of her persistent headache, who developed a neoplastic symptomatic prolactinoma 9 years later. She underwent endoscopic endonasal tumor excision, which was uneventful with no intraoperative complications. The present case study revealed the possibility that adolescent physiological pituitary gland hypertrophy can develop into prolactinoma. Hence, patients with symptomatic physiological pituitary gland enlargement should have long-term follow-up using clinical, laboratory, and neuroradiology evaluations.