Molecular pathogenesis of pituitary tumours.

Human pituitary tumours account for 10% of intracranial neoplasms. These tumours are usually sporadic and benign; malignant change and metastasis are extremely rare events. Autosomal dominant inheritance of MEN 1 accounts for a minority of pituitary tumours. Pituitary tumours have been found to be monoclonal in several studies. This would suggest that an intrinsic genetic pituitary defect is pivotal in the pathogenesis of these tumours. However, this concept does not exclude a role for the hypothalamus in the genesis of pituitary tumours; the trophic function of several hypothalamic peptides could promote initiation of the genetic event or facilitate a sequence of events leading to clonal expansion of the transformed cell.