How is pituitary tumor diagnosed

In fact, we are all afraid of having problems with our bodies. Any disease puts us under great pressure, let alone having a pituitary tumor. Many people may think that a tumor cannot be cured and they don’t know how to diagnose it. Today we will learn about how pituitary tumors are diagnosed.

Diagnosis of Pituitary Tumors:

The diagnosis of pituitary tumors is mainly based on corresponding clinical symptoms, signs, pituitary hormone testing and imaging examinations.

Pituitary hormones can be tested in many laboratories and even in primary hospitals. However, in the process of clinical diagnosis and treatment, people often rely too much on laboratory tests and ignore the special requirements of the secretion rhythm of pituitary hormones on the time of blood collection, making it impossible to judge the hormone test results of many patients.

Among the hormones secreted by the pituitary gland, the secretion of GH, ACTH and PRL has a clear circadian rhythm, and they are all stress hormones. The clinical blood collection time for GH and ACTH should be 8 am (fasting), and the patient should rest in a quiet state for more than half an hour before blood collection. The PRL result measured in a non-starved state while eating simple carbohydrates is a trough value, so the measured value can reflect the patient's serum PRL level in a non-stress state.

Imaging examination is a very important means of diagnosing pituitary tumors. Among them, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of the sellar region has the highest detection rate for pituitary tumors. Through MRI detection of thin layers of the sellar region (scanning 1 layer every 1mm) to enhance the image, if combined with dynamic contrast MRI detection, pituitary microadenomas as small as 2-3mm in diameter can also be imaged. This is especially important for the early detection of ACTH tumors and PRL microadenomas.

Warm reminder: Pituitary tumor is not a minor disease. Patients with pituitary tumors should pay attention to this disease and pay more attention to the causes. This disease has nothing to do with age and is more common in children or adolescents. It should be treated reasonably. Psychological care is also very important in the lives of patients with pituitary tumors.