What're the treatments for prolactinoma?

Dopamine is the chemical that normally inhibits prolactin secretion, so doctors may treat prolactinoma with bromocriptine or cabergoline, drugs that act like dopamine. This type of drug is called a dopamine agonist. These drugs shrink the tumor and return prolactin levels to normal in approximately 80 percent of patients. Both have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of hyperprolactinemia.

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Bromocriptine is the only dopamine agonist approved for the treatment of infertility. Another dopamine agonist, pergolide, is available in the U.S., but is not approved for treating conditions that cause high blood levels of prolactin. Bromocriptine is associated with side effects such as nausea and dizziness. To avoid these side effects, it is important for bromocriptine treatment to start slowly. Bromocriptine treatment should not be interrupted without consulting a qualified endocrinologist. Prolactin levels often rise again in most people when the drug is discontinued. In some, however, prolactin levels remain normal, so the doctor may suggest reducing or discontinuing treatment every two years on a trial basis. Cabergoline is also associated with side effects such as nausea and dizziness, but these may be less common and less severe than with bromocriptine. As with bromocriptine therapy, side effects may be avoided if treatment is started slowly. If a patient's prolactin level remains normal for 6 months, a doctor may consider stopping treatment. Cabergoline should not be interrupted without consulting a qualified endocrinologist.

Surgery should be considered if medical therapy cannot be tolerated or if it fails to reduce prolactin levels, restore normal reproduction and pituitary function, and reduce tumor size. If medical therapy is only partially successful, this therapy should continue, possibly combined with surgery or radiation treatment. The results of surgery depend a great deal on tumor size and prolactin level as well as the skill and experience of the neurosurgeon. The higher the prolactin level, the lower the chance of normalizing serum prolactin. In the best medical centers, surgery corrects prolactin levels in 80 percent of patients with a serum prolactin less than 250 ng/ml. Even in patients with large tumors that cannot be completely removed, drug therapy may be able to return serum prolactin to the normal range after surgery. Depending on the size of the tumor and how much of it is removed, studies show that 20 to 50 percent will recur, usually within five years. Because the results of surgery are so dependent on the skill and knowledge of the neurosurgeon, a patient should ask the surgeon about the number of operations he or she has performed to remove pituitary tumors, and for success and complication rates in comparison to major medical centers. The best results come from surgeons who have performed many hundreds or even thousands of such operations.

If a woman has a small prolactinoma, there is no reason that she cannot conceive and have a normal pregnancy after successful medical therapy. The pituitary enlarges and prolactin production increases during normal pregnancy in women without pituitary disorders. Women with prolactin-secreting tumors may experience further pituitary enlargement and must be closely monitored during pregnancy. However, damage to the pituitary or eye nerves occurs in less than one percent of pregnant women with prolactinoma. In women with large tumors, the risk of damage to the pituitary or eye nerves is greater, and some doctors consider it as high as 25 percent. If a woman has completed a successful pregnancy, the chances of her completing further successful pregnancies are extremely high. A woman with a prolactinoma should discuss her plans to conceive with her physician, so she can be carefully evaluated prior to becoming pregnant. This evaluation will include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to assess the size of the tumor and an eye examination with measurement of visual fields. As soon as a patient is pregnant, her doctor will usually advise that she stop taking bromocriptine or cabergoline, the common treatments for prolactinoma. Most endocrinologists see patients every two months throughout the pregnancy. The patient should consult her endocrinologist promptly if she develops symptoms--particularly headaches, visual changes, nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst or urination, or extreme lethargy. Bromocriptine or cabergoline treatment may be renewed and additional treatment may be required if the patient develops symptoms from growth of the tumor during pregnancy. At one time, oral contraceptives were thought to contribute to the development of prolactinomas. However, this is no longer thought to be true. Patients with prolactinoma treated with bromocriptine or cabergoline may also take oral contraceptives. Similarly, post-menopausal estrogen replacement is safe in patients with prolactinoma treated with medical therapy or surgery.

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