Pituitary tumors in MEN1: do not be misled by borderline elevated prolactin levels

Cabergoline Withdrawal Before and After Menopause: Outcomes in Microprolactinomas

Natural course of prolactinomas after menopause is not fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to compare recurrence rate after cabergoline withdrawal in premenopausal vs. postmenopausal women with microprolactinoma. Sixty-two women with microprolactinoma treated with cabergoline for at least 1 year and followed for 2 years after drug withdrawal were retrospectively selected. Patients were divided into two groups: 48 patients stopped cabergoline before menopause ("PRE" group), while 14 after menopause ("POST" group). Recurrence was defined by prolactin levels above normal, confirmed on two occasions. Overall, 39/62 women relapsed. Patients who relapsed apparently had higher prolactin before withdrawal (median 216.2, range 21.2-464.3 mIU/L) compared with those in long-term remission (94.3, 29.7-402.8 mIU/L; p < 0.05), and the risk of recurrence seemed lower in POST women (4/14, 29%) than in PRE ones (35/48, 73%, p < 0.005, OR 0.149, 95% CI 0.040-0.558). However, none of the factors (prolactin before withdrawal, menopausal status, treatment duration, complete adenoma regression) showed a correlation with recurrence risk in multivariate analysis. The best strategy able to optimize CBG treatment and withdrawal's outcomes is still to be defined in microprolactinomas. Postmenopausal status cannot reliably predict long-term remission, and follow-up is needed also in women of this age.

Management impact: effects on quality of life and prognosis in MEN1

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an autosomal dominant endocrine tumor syndrome, caused by inactivating mutations of the MEN1 tumor suppressor gene at 11q13 locus, which predisposes to develop tumors in target neuroendocrine tissues. As the positional cloning and identification of the causative gene in 1997, genetic diagnosis, by the sequencing-based research of gene mutations, has become an important tool in the early and differential diagnosis of the disease. Application of the genetic test, in MEN1 index cases and in first-degree relatives of mutated patients, has been constantly increasing during the last two decades, also thanks to the establishment of multidisciplinary referral centers and specific genetic counseling, and thanks to the wide availability of high throughput instruments for gene sequencing and gene mutation identification. The MEN1 genetic test helps the specific diagnosis of probands, and allows the early identification of asymptomatic carriers, strongly contributing, together with progressions in tumor diagnostic techniques and in pharmacological and surgical therapeutic approaches, to the reduction of morbidity and mortality associated with the syndrome. International clinical guidelines for MEN1 have been drafted by panels of specialists in the field, with the main goal to improve the management of the disease and grant patients a better quality of life. Here, we review main recommendations and suggestions derived by the last published general guidelines in 2012, and by most recent published studies about MEN1 syndrome diagnosis, clinical management, therapeutic approaches and patients' quality of life.