Melmed S
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles School of Medicine, University of California.
Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 1994 Mar;23(1):81-92.
Anterior pituitary tumors may secrete trophic hormones with resultant peripheral clinical disorders, or they may be clinically silent. Hypothalamic hormones control anterior pituitary hormone secretion and cell proliferation and also have been implicated in tumor promotion in animal models. Pituitary tumors are, however, monoclonal in origin. Several activating oncogene mutations as well as allelic loss of tumor suppressor genes have been described. Interestingly, apparently sporadic pituitary tumors appear to exhibit genetic defects similar to those for MEN 1-associated tumors. The multistep process of pituitary tumorigenesis is becoming increasingly apparent, and its understanding will provide novel prognostic and therapeutic options for these patients.
垂体前叶肿瘤可能分泌促激素，导致外周临床疾病，也可能在临床上无明显症状。下丘脑激素控制垂体前叶激素的分泌和细胞增殖，在动物模型中也与肿瘤促进有关。然而，垂体肿瘤起源于单克隆。已经描述了几种激活癌基因突变以及肿瘤抑制基因的等位基因缺失。有趣的是，明显散发的垂体肿瘤似乎表现出与MEN 1相关肿瘤相似的基因缺陷。垂体肿瘤发生的多步骤过程越来越明显，对其的理解将为这些患者提供新的预后和治疗选择。
