How to check for pituitary tumors

Pituitary tumors are tumors that grow on the pituitary gland in the brain. They are generally benign in nature. After the disease occurs, it affects normal hormone secretion. When it grows, it can also compress nerves, causing headaches or vision loss. This disease cannot be ignored, so if symptoms appear, you should go to the hospital for examination and diagnosis in time. How to check for pituitary tumors? Let's listen to the experts' introduction.

1. Clinical manifestations

The patient's age, gender, symptoms after illness, and physical changes.

2. Endocrine examination

Since most pituitary tumors have the function of secreting hormones, when clinical manifestations are not obvious and imaging cannot indicate the presence of a tumor, the hormones of the pituitary tumor have already changed. Some pituitary tumor cases can be diagnosed simply by endocrine testing.

3. Imaging

(1) Plain skull X-ray: This is a relatively primitive diagnostic method. It determines the presence of tumors and makes differential diagnosis based on changes in the sella turcica bone and calcification in the sella turcica.

(2) CT scan: It is only useful for diagnosing large pituitary tumors, but small pituitary tumors are easily missed. It cannot be used as the main tool for diagnosing pituitary tumors.

(3) MRI examination: It is the most important tool for diagnosing pituitary tumors. It can clearly show the size, shape, location and relationship of the tumor with the surrounding structures. Even tumors with a diameter of 2 to 3 mm can be displayed. However, the signals of some tumors are similar to those of the surrounding normal pituitary tissues, and the two are difficult to distinguish. It is necessary to combine clinical manifestations and endocrine examinations for diagnosis.

4. Pathological examination

This is the most reliable diagnostic method with a very low misdiagnosis rate. Pathological diagnosis is divided into ordinary section HE staining light microscopy observation, which can only be used as a gross diagnosis and cannot distinguish the type of tumor. Immunohistochemical staining is used to diagnose based on the hormones contained in tumor cells. It has high sensitivity, but the misdiagnosis rate is also high. Electron fluoroscopic microscopy observation distinguishes the tumor type based on the different characteristics of tumor cells, which is rarely used in clinical practice.

Experts remind: In fact, diet plays a large role in the treatment of pituitary tumors. We hope that everyone will pay more attention to it. For example, do not overeat and eat on time. The diet should be light, and eat less spicy, fried, deep-fried, strong alcohol and other indigestible and irritating foods. Once symptoms are found, please go to the neurosurgery department of a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.