The role of temozolomide in the treatment of a patient with a pure silent pituitary somatotroph carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of a pure silent somatotroph pituitary carcinoma.

METHODS: We describe a 54-year-old female with a clinically nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma diagnosed 15 years earlier.

RESULTS: The patient underwent transsphenoidal surgery and no visible tumor remnant was observed for 6 years. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected the recurrence of a 1.2 × 1.5 cm macroadenoma. The patient was submitted to conventional radiotherapy (4500 cGy), and the tumor volume remained stable for 7 years. Then, an MRI revealed a slight increase in tumor size, and 2 years later, a subsequent MRI detected a very large, invasive pituitary mass. The patient was resubmitted to transsphenoidal surgery, and the histopathological examination showed diffuse positivity for growth hormone (GH). The nadir GH level during an oral glucose tolerance test was 0.06 ng/mL, and the pre- and postoperative insulin like growth factor type I (IGF-I) levels were within the normal range. Abdominal, chest, brain, and spine MRI showed multiple small and hypervascular liver and bone lesions suggestive of metastases. Liver biopsy confirmed metastasis of GH-producing pituitary carcinoma. The patient has been treated with temozolomide and zoledronic acid for 7 months and with octreotide long-acting release (LAR) for 4 months. The primary tumor and metastases are stable.

CONCLUSION: Despite being an extremely rare event, pituitary carcinoma may develop several years after the successful treatment of even a silent GH-producing pituitary adenoma, which suggests that close long-term follow-up is necessary.