ArticleEndocrinology, diabetes & metabolism2023
Incidental versus symptomatic nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas: Are they different?
Article in Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Etiology, presentation, and outcomes of hyperprolactinemia due to pituitary masses in children and adolescents.Endocrine · 2025Article
- Comparing redo surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery for recurrent, residual, and/or tumors showing progression in nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Surgical neurology international · 2024Review
- Incidental versus symptomatic nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas: Are they different?Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) constitute one of the most common tumours in the sellar region and are often discovered only when associated with compressive symptoms. With the frequent use of brain imaging, there has been an increase in the prevalence of incidentally discovered NFPAs.
aimWe aim to determine the prevalence of incidental diagnosis with NPAs observed over a decade and compare the analytical, clinical and treatment differences between those who were diagnosed either incidentally or symptomatically. We also intend to evaluate the pathology differences between both groups.
methodsWe retrospectively analysed patients aged ≥18 years with an apparent NFPA, defined as a pituitary lesion compatible with pituitary adenoma which is not associated with the clinical or biochemical evidence of a hormone-secreting tumour. Inclusion criteria included normal prolactin level for lesions <9 mm or a prolactin level <100 ng/mL for lesions ≥10 mm in maximal tumour diameter.
resultsWe included 119 patients [53.8% males; mean age: 56.8 years (SD = 16.7)]. Diagnosis was incidental in 47.1% of patients, and many patients had unappreciated signs and symptoms of pituitary disease. In the symptomatic and incidental groups, 66.7% and 41.1% of patients had hypopituitarism, respectively (p = .005). Only 20.4% of patients incidentally diagnosed had microadenoma (p = .060). Hypopituitarism was present in 18.8% of those patients with microadenomas. Most tumours were macroadenomas (87.4%). Half of those patients diagnosed incidentally were submitted to surgery, compared with 75.8% of those who were diagnosed symptomatically (p = .004).
conclusionsNonfunctioning pituitary adenomas are commonly diagnosed incidentally, with many manifesting symptoms on examination. NFPAs incidentally diagnosed are more commonly macroadenomas and less frequently associated with hypopituitarism than symptomatic. Accordingly, if there was a greater level of knowledge and more suspicion about these pathologies, it might be possible to discover them earlier.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.