What causes pituitary tumors?
The cause of pituitary tumors is not known, but may be genetic. Symptoms related to tumor location, size, and pressure on neighboring structures include persistent headache on one or both sides, or in the center of the forehead, blurred or double
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vision; loss of peripheral vision, drooping eyelid caused by pressure on nerves leading to the eye, seizures.
The pituitary gland is part of your endocrine system, which consists of glands that produce hormones that regulate processes throughout your body. Besides the pituitary gland, the endocrine system includes the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries (in females) and testicles (in men). Pituitary tumors are almost always noncancerous (benign), which means they don't spread to other parts of your body, but they can increase in size. Because they grow in such limited space, they can compress and damage the normal pituitary tissue, interfering with hormone production. A tumor can also compress the optic nerve (the nerve that transmits visual information from your eye to your brain), slowly causing loss of vision.
Some genes (parts of our DNA) contain instructions for controlling when our cells grow and divide. Some genes that promote cell division are called oncogenes. Other genes that slow down cell division or cause cells to die at the appropriate time are called tumor suppressor genes. It is known that cancers can be caused by DNA mutations (defects) that turn on oncogenes or turn off tumor suppressor genes. Some people with cancer have DNA mutations they inherited from a parent, which increases their risk for developing the disease. Usually, DNA mutations occur during life rather than having been inherited. Acquired mutations of some organs may result from exposure to radiation or carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals). Sometimes mutations occur for no apparent reason.
The DNA mutations that cause tumors in people with multiple endocrine neoplasia, type I (MEN1) have been identified. This condition is responsible for nearly all pituitary tumors that run in families, but only about 3% of all pituitary tumors. A mutation of the MEN1 gene has recently been identified as being responsible for a protein called menin. Although patients affected by the MEN1 syndrome can develop tumors of some glands as early as their teenage years, the pituitary tumors usually occur in adults. Currently testing for this gene mutation is only available in research settings.
Much less is known about the causes of nonhereditary pituitary tumors, although recent studies indicate about 40% of somatotroph adenomas have an acquired mutation in a specific protein called Gs alpha. Gs alpha mutations are much less common in other types of pituitary adenomas. Several other genetic abnormalities have been found in other types of pituitary adenomas, but it is not clear whether abnormal genes are essential for pituitary tumor formation. What we do know is that the pituitary loses its normal regulatory mechanism that keeps the glandular cells from overproducing their hormone and growing. This is probably the result of the gene alterations. |
