Advances in the Imaging of Pituitary Tumors

In most patients with pituitary adenomas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential to guide effective decision-making. T1- and T2-weighted sequences allow the majority of adenomas to be readily identified. Supplementary MR sequences (e.g. FLAIR; MR angiography) may also help inform surgery. However, in some patients MRI findings are ‘negative’ or equivocal (e.g. with failure to reliably identify a microadenoma or to distinguish postoperative change from residual/recurrent disease). Molecular imaging [e.g. 11C-methionine PET/CT coregistered with volumetric MRI (Met-PET/MRCR)] may allow accurate localisation of the site of de novo or persistent disease to guide definitive treatment (e.g. surgery or radiosurgery).

Source: Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America - July 14, 2020 Category: Endocrinology Authors: James MacFarlane, Waiel A. Bashari, Russell Senanayake, Daniel Gillett, Merel van der Meulen, Andrew S. Powlson, Angelos Kolias, Olympia Koulouri, Mark Gurnell Source Type: research