Pituitary Tumors and Granular Cell Neoplasms
Summary
Pituitary tumours encompass a spectrum of neoplasms arising in the anterior and posterior lobes of the pituitary gland. The most common are hormone-producing adenomas, which may secrete prolactin, growth hormone or adrenocorticotrophic hormone, leading to diverse clinical syndromes. In contrast, non-endocrine neoplasms of the posterior pituitary include pituicytoma, spindle cell oncocytoma and granular cell tumour. These lesions share a glial or neurohypophyseal origin, exhibit varied imaging characteristics and frequently mimic common sellar masses. Histopathological examination reveals distinct cellular morphologies: pituicytomas show spindle to epithelioid cells with rich vascularity, granular cell tumours contain abundant PAS-positive cytoplasmic granules, and spindle cell oncocytomas display oxyphilic mitochondria-laden cells. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment, yet complete excision may be challenged by tumour vascularity and infiltrative borders. Recent advances in molecular profiling and epigenetic analysis have begun to refine subclassification, prognostic stratification and potential therapeutic targets, underscoring the global effort to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes.
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Pituitary Tumors and Granular Cell Neoplasms publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in pituitary tumors and granular cell neoplasms across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Pituicytoma: A rare low-grade glial neoplasm of neurohypophyseal pituicytes, often highly vascular.
Granular cell tumour (GCT): A benign posterior pituitary tumour with cytoplasmic lysosomal granules and slow growth.
Spindle cell oncocytoma (SCO): A non-endocrine sellar mass composed of mitochondria-rich spindle cells.
Collision lesion: Co-occurrence of two distinct tumours within the same anatomical site, complicating diagnosis.
DNA methylation profiling: Epigenetic technique assessing global methylation patterns for tumour subclassification.
References
- Posterior pituitary tumors and other rare entities involving the pituitary gland. Brain Pathology (2024).
- Oncocytic pituicytoma in a patient with Cushing’s disease: a case report and narrative literature review. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2025).
- Genetic and epigenetic characterization of posterior pituitary tumors. Acta Neuropathologica (2021).
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