Intracavernous sinus ectopic adrenocorticotropin-secreting tumours causing therapeutic failure in transsphenoidal surgery for Cushing's disease

The major cause of surgical failure in the treatment of Cushing's disease lies in unsuccessful identification of adenomas. In the present study, we investigated the pathogenesis of negative exploration in transsphenoidal surgery for Cushing's disease by analyzing neuro-imaging studies, endocrinological examination and selective venous sampling.

Thirty patients with ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome that met the endocrinological criteria for Cushing's disease were treated by transsphenoidal microsurgery. Depending on positive or negative identification of adenomas during the surgery, selective adenomectomy, partial hypophysectomy or subtotal hypophysectomy was performed.

All nine patients who underwent selective adenomectomy showed endocrinological remission and did not need any hormone replacement therapy. Of the 12 patients who underwent partial hypophysectomy, 11 showed normalization of hypercortisolism but seven needed permanent replacement of hydrocortisone. Four patients underwent subtotal hypophysectomy because no adenoma could be identified in spite of detailed exploration, and three of them showed remission but with permanent requirements of hydrocortisone and other pituitary hormones. Five patients, whose hypercortisolism persisted after initial surgery, underwent total hypophysectomy as secondary transsphenoidal surgery, and only one of them showed endocrinological remission. Of the six patients with surgical failure, four were thought to be rare cases in whom the ACTH-secreting tumours may have occurred ectopically in the cavernous sinus without direct contact with the pituitary gland. Endocrinologically, these four patients showed a low or no response to corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) stimulation, and for three of them, radiation therapy to the sellar region including the cavernous sinus was effective for persistent hypercortisolemia.

Recognition of an ectopic intracavernous sinus ACTH-secreting tumour as a pathological entity for Cushing's disease may not only enhance the diagnostic accuracy but also be important for determining the optimal surgical mode for persistent Cushing's disease.