Treatment

Mount Sinai Health System is the premier destination for diagnosis and treatment of various pituitary tumors and disorders. We offer the most advanced medical, neurosurgical, and radiation techniques, and take a multidisciplinary approach to developing a treatment plan. We may use one or two or all three of the following approaches:

Medical therapy can help us treatthe symptoms of pituitary tumors. We use a variety of medications, including dopamine agonists, to stop tumors such as prolactinomas, growth hormone tumors, ACTH-secreting tumors, and thyrotropin (TSH)-secreting tumors from overproducing hormones and to shrink prolactinomas. We also use other medical therapies such as somatostatin analogues, growth hormone receptor antagonists, glucocorticoid receptor antagonists, and cortisol biosynthesis inhibitors.

Surgery is appropriate forlarge tumors or tumors that do not respond to medical therapy. Working together with neuroendocrinologists, our neurosurgeons determine the best way to remove the tumor. We often use a minimally invasive procedure called transsphenoidal surgery, using a tiny endoscope and surgical instruments to remove the tumor through the nose and the sphenoid bone. This process eliminates the need for large incisions and speeds up healing. Typically, these surgeries require a two-night hospital stay. We will see you within two weeks, for follow-up.

Radiation therapy is anotheroption for treatment. Radiation therapy can kill the pituitary tumor cells. We can do radiation in several doses over a period of time or in one targeted session using advanced stereotactic radiosurgery technology.