Menstrual restoration in severe panhypopituitarism many years after cranial irradiation for suprasellar germinoma.

PURPOSE: We report a very rare case showing menstrual restoration in severe pan-hypopituitarism many years after cranial irradiation for suprasellar germinoma.

CASE: A 30-year-old, almost primarily amenorrheic woman with severe panhypopituitarism presented with cyclic genital bleeding for the previous five months. She had menstruated once, when she was 13 years old. When she was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with a suprasellar germinoma measuring 10 mm in diameter, which led to diabetes insipidus. Cranial irradiation with a total dose of 24 Gy and chemotherapy resulted in complete tumor remission. She developed severe hypopituitarism [luteinizing hormone (LH) = 0.4 mIU/mL, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) = 1.7 mIU/mL, and serum estradiol (E2) level < 10 pg/mL]. She had received multiple hormone replacement therapies for many years. When she was 29 years old, she expressed a desire to become pregnant. Serum gonadotropin and E2 levels increased (LH = 5.8 mIU/mL, FSH = 5.9 mIU/mL, and E2 = 58 pg/mL). She conceived with clomiphene therapy, and then delivered a healthy baby. Eight months after parturition, her basal body temperature and serum progesterone levels indicated recovery of ovulatory cycles. Ten months after parturition, she also spontaneously conceived.

CONCLUSION

Menstrual restoration is very rare in severe panhypopituitarism after cranial irradiation. A relatively low dose of irradiation and small tumor size may have contributed to the recovery of menstruation in our patient.