Our experience in prolactinomas larger than 60mm

INTRODUCTION

Giant prolactinomas (tumor size larger than 40mm) are a rare entity of benign nature. Prolactinomas larger than 60mm are usually underrepresented in published studies and their clinical presentation, outcomes and management might be different from smaller giant prolactinomas.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We retrospective collected data from patients with prolactinomas larger than 60mm in maximum diameter and prolactin (PRL) serum levels higher than 21,200μIU/mL in our series of prolactinomas (283). Data were collected from January 2012 to December 2017. We included three patients with prolactinomas larger than 60mm.

RESULTS

At diagnosis, two patients presented neurological symptoms and one nasal protrusion. All patients received medical treatment with dopamine agonists. No surgical procedure was performed. Median prolactin levels at diagnosis was 108,180 [52,594-514,984]μIU/mL. Medical treatment achieved a marked reduction (>99%) in prolactin levels in all cases. Tumor size reduction (higher than 33%) was observed in all cases. In one patient cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak was observed after tumor shrinkage.

CONCLUSIONS

Dopamine agonists appear to be an effective and safe first-line treatment in prolactinomas larger than 60mm even in life-threatening situations. More studies with a higher number of patients are necessary to obtain enough data to make major recommendations.

Embolisation of intracranial meningiomas without subsequent surgery

In an open, prospective study, we embolised intracranial meningiomas in seven patients, without subsequent surgery. Follow-up over a mean of 20 months included serial neurological examination, MRI and MR spectroscopy. Clinically, embolisation had no adverse effects. Symptomatic patients showed clinical improvement. On MRI marked tumour shrinkage occurred after embolisation in six patients, and was most pronounced during the first 6 months. In a young boy the tumour was unchanged despite complete angiographic devascularisation. Embolisation without subsequent surgery may cause substantial tumour shrinkage and thus be used in selected in patients. However, thorough follow-up is mandatory to ascertain the effects of embolisation.

MR imaging- and MR spectroscopy-revealed changes in meningiomas for which embolization was performed without subsequent surgery

We describe our experience with follow-up MR imaging and MR spectroscopy in two patients after embolization of meningiomas without subsequent surgery. In both patients there was a marked reduction in tumor size and a decrease in contrast enhancement associated with spectroscopic signs of fatty degeneration. We did not observe regrowth; however, in one patient with incomplete angiographic devascularization, residual vital tumor tissue was seen at follow-up examinations.