1996 Volume 36 Issue 11 Pages 818-821
A 43-year-old male and a 39-year-old male presented with multiple pituitary adenomas with two distinct histological types. The first patient who had multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 had developed acromegaly due to a growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH)-producing pancreatic tumor. Both plasma GHRH and growth hormone (GH) levels decreased to normal after resection of the pancreatic tumor. However, the plasma GH level gradually increased again and magnetic resonance imaging revealed pituitary adenoma formation. Histological examination revealed two different histological types of pituitary adenoma: GH cell adenoma and null cell adenoma. The second patient, with no such genetic condition, had a non-functioning pituitary adenoma. Histological examination revealed two different histological types of silent GH cell adenoma and silent gonadotroph adenoma. Careful histological examination is required to exclude the possibility of multiple pituitary adenomas.
