Abstract
Clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors are benign neoplasms that fail to cause a clinically recognizable syndrome. Although hormonal hypersecretion-determined clinical syndromes herald most pituitary adenomas, clinically “nonfunctioning” tumors represent approximately one-third of all discovered pituitary tumors. Despite their often chromophobic appearance, all are granule-containing and presumably hormone-producing (1). Four types of tumors are included in the clinically nonfunctioning category:
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1.
Neoplasms that hypersecrete a hormone to such a minor degree that no symptoms result.
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2.
Neoplasms that hypersecrete a biologically active hormone that does not result in clinical symptomatology.
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3.
Neoplasms that hypersecrete an abnormal, biologically inactive version of hormone that fails to cause an endocrine syndrome.
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4.
Neoplasms that fail to secrete any hormone at all.
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Young, W.F. (2001). Clinically Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas. In: Thapar, K., Kovacs, K., Scheithauer, B.W., Lloyd, R.V. (eds) Diagnosis and Management of Pituitary Tumors. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-217-3_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-217-3_20
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