Cavernous sinus invasion by pituitary adenomas.

One hundred ninety-eight surgically explored pituitary adenomas were evaluated preoperatively by high-resolution computed tomography (CT). At surgery, evidence of direct cavernous sinus invasion was demonstrated in 19. CT findings in these cases included cavernous sinus expansion (17 patients) and visible encasement of the internal carotid artery (14 patients). The invasive tumor often enhanced to a lesser degree than the cavernous sinuses and ipsilateral internal carotid artery. Intracavernous cranial nerve compression, obliteration, or displacement (14 patients), invasion of the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus (seven patients), and diffuse bone destruction (seven cases) were other findings. Magnetic resonance imaging in three patients provided excellent demonstration of intracavernous internal carotid artery encasement, but displacement and obliteration of intracavernous cranial nerves was not shown as well as it was with CT. Histologically, only three patients showed anaplastic features and only one of them had distant metastases. There was no correlation between histologic features, hormone assays, and invasiveness. This experience indicates any type of pituitary adenoma, regardless of its endocrinologic activity, can invade the cavernous sinus. Cavernous sinus involvement makes complete surgical removal difficult. Preoperative recognition of invasive behavior of these tumors has prognostic value and aids in designing appropriate management. CT is the most useful technique generally available for evaluation and follow-up.