Outcomes of the Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery for Resection of Pituitary Adenomas Utilizing Extracapsular Dissection Technique with a Cotton Swab

Extracapsular Resection of Pituitary Adenomas: A Systematic Review

There is considerable variation in the surgical techniques for transsphenoidal excision of pituitary tumors. Recently, an extracapsular method has been developed that involves using the tumor pseudocapsule as a dissection plane to increase the extent of resection. This review assessed the outcomes of this new approach as compared with standard transsphenoidal surgery. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE/PubMed, the US National Institutes of Health Ongoing Trials Register (ClinicalTrials.gov), the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP; apps.who.int/trialsearch), and LILACS databases for relevant literature and checked reference lists of relevant articles. Randomized controlled trials and prospective and retrospective cohort studies comparing extracapsular and intracapsular resection of pituitary tumors were included in the review. Five cohort studies with 1,588 participants were included. Extracapsular resection was associated with a higher likelihood of complete excision (relative risk [RR] 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.70, p  = 0.04) and endocrinologic remission (RR 1.26, 95% CI 1.03-1.54, p  = 0.02). Because there was a significant risk of bias and substantial heterogeneity, the estimates of effect may not be robust. In patients with pituitary adenomas undergoing transsphenoidal excision, extracapsular resection may be associated with higher rates of complete excision and endocrinologic remission, but the evidence is not strong. Hence, randomized controlled trials to determine the magnitude of benefit and identify an improvement in progression-free or overall survival are warranted.

Treatment of hyperprolactinemia: A single-institute experience

BACKGROUND

Dopamine agonists such as bromocriptine and cabergoline have been found to be an effective treatment for hyperprolactinemia, not only inducing adenoma shrinkage but also lowering serum prolactin levels. Among known dopamine agonists, cabergoline is the drug of choice due to its enhanced tolerability compared with bromocriptine. This study aimed to evaluate cabergoline's effectiveness, along with transsphenoidal surgery, in the treatment of hyperprolactinemia.

METHODS

We retrieved all patients with a diagnosis of prolactinoma who were treated in our hospital during 2000-2018. A total of 208 patients were enrolled in the analysis after applying exclusion criteria. Patients were divided into four groups according to the treatments received. The demographic data, dosage and duration of cabergoline, and serum prolactin levels at different time points were collected for analysis.

RESULTS

Normalization was achieved in 59 patients (83.10%) within a short median duration of 2.80 months among those treated with cabergoline only. Although cabergoline alone was effective and well-tolerated, our data showed that long-term remission rates were more favorable when surgery was involved. The long-term remission rate of all patients enrolled was 53.8% (112 patients among 208 patients). The long-term remission rates for the different treatment groups were 17.8% (8 of 45 patients) in Group 1 (Operation→Drug), 83.3% (5 of 6 patients) in Group 2 (Drug→Operation), 79.0% (68 of 86 patients) in Group 3 (Operation only), and 43.7% (31 of 71 patients) in Group 4 (Drug only).

CONCLUSION

Cabergoline has been demonstrated to be effective and should be considered as a first-line treatment for hyperprolactinemia. In our study, transsphenoidal surgery was also demonstrated to achieve good results compared with medical treatment. Surgical intervention may resurface as an alternative first-line treatment. When used in combination with cabergoline, surgery offers a higher disease remission rate than either drug or operation alone.