Clinical features, radiological profiles, pathological features and surgical outcomes of pituicytomas: a report of 11 cases and a pooled analysis of individual patient data

• Published in: 军事医学研究（英文版） Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 277 - 285
• Main Authors: Jian-Hua Cheng, Ding Nie, Bin Li, Song-Bai Gui, Chu-Zhong Li, Ya-Zhuo Zhang, Luigi Maria Cavallo, Peng Zhao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Neurosurgical Department,Beijing Tiantan Hospital,Capital Medical University,No.119 South Fourth Ring West Road,Fengtai District,Beijing 100070,China%Department of Cell and Biology,Beijing Neurosurgical Institute,Beijing 100070,China%Division of Neurosurgery,UniversitáDegli Studi di Napoli Federico Ⅱ,80142 Naples,Italy 2022
• Subjects: Pituicytoma; Endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery; Craniotomy; Posterior pituitary lobe tumor
• ISSN: 2095-7467

Background: Pituicytoma is an extremely rare low-grade glial tumor that is closely related to the neurohypophysis axis. Most studies of pituicytomas include only several cases. To better understand this disease, we reviewed a series of cases of pituicytomas. The diagnosis and treatment of pituicytoma must be further elucidated.Methods: Eleven patients with pituicytoma admitted to Beijing Tiantan Hospital from 2012 to 2019 were selected. The clinical features, including radiological and histological examination, surgical records and prognosis were reviewed. Sixty-eight other previously published cases of pituicytoma also were used to analyze the predictive factors for the results. The Cox regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Our patients included 5 males (45.5％) and 6 females (54.5％), with a mean age of 49.3 years. The tumor was located in the suprasellar region in 5 patients (45.5％), intrasellar region in 4 patients (36.4％), and intrasellar-suprasellar region in 2 patients (18.2％). All patients were misdiagnosed with other common tumors in the sellar region before the operation. During the operation, gross total resection (GTR) of the tumor was achieved in 6 patients (54.5％), and subtotal resection (STR) was achieved in 5 patients (45.5％). The mean progression-free survival (PFS) time was 29.82 months. Tumor progression after surgical resection occurred in 4 patients (36.4％). Among them, 60.0％ of the patients (cases 4, 5, 7) with STR experienced progression, while 16.7％ of the patients (case 2) with GTR experienced progression. Combined with the 68 cases in the literature, GTR was an independent risk factor for PFS time (P<0.05). Conclusions: Pituicytomas are more common in middle-aged people and the sellar region. The clinical manifestations of pituicytomas are different, but no diagnostic clinical features have been identified other than an abnormally abundant blood supply. Currently, GTR is the best approach for the treatment of pituicytomas. More patients and longer follow-up periods were needed to further elucidate the biological features of pituicytomas.