Reappraising the Role of Trans-Sphenoidal Surgery in Prolactin-Secreting Pituitary Tumors

• Main Authors: Pier Paolo Mattogno, Quintino Giorgio D’Alessandris, Sabrina Chiloiro, Antonio Bianchi, Antonella Giampietro, Alfredo Pontecorvi, Laura De Marinis, Alessandro Olivi, Carmelo Anile, Liverana Lauretti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Cancers
• Subjects: prolactinoma; transsphenoidal surgery; dopamine agonists; DA withdrawal; cure rate
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/13/3252

Background: Prolactinomas represent a unique challenge for endocrinologists and neurosurgeons. Considering recent innovations in surgical practice, the authors aimed to investigate the best management for prolactinomas. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional and monocentric study was designed. Consecutive patients affected by prolactinomas were enrolled if treated with a first-line treatment with a dopamine agonist (DA) or trans-sphenoidal surgery (TSS). Patients carried giant prolactinomas, and those with a follow-up <12 months were excluded. Results: Two hundred and fifty-nine patients were enrolled. The first treatment was DA for 140 patients and TS for 119 cases. One hundred and forty-six of 249 patients (58.6%) needed a second therapy. The mean follow-up was 102.2 months (12–438 months). Surgery highly impacted on the cure rate—in particular, in females (<i>p</i> = 0.0021) and in microprolactinomas (<i>p</i> = 0.0020). Considering the multivariate analysis, the female gender and surgical treatment in the course of the clinical history were the only independent positive predictors of a cure at the end of 5 years follow-up (<i>p</i> = 0.0016, <i>p</i> = 0.0005). The evaluation of serum prolactin (24 hours after TSS) revealed that 86.4% of patients with postoperative prolactin (PRL) ≤10 ng/mL were cured at the end of the follow-up (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). Conclusions: According to our experience, surgery allows a high cure rate of prolactinomas, particularly in females with microadenoma, with a good safety profile. TSS for prolactinomas should be considered as a concrete option, during the multidisciplinary evaluation, in centers of reference for pituitary diseases.