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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
[Lymphoma of the pituitary stalk]
S Krypciak1, E Alonso, M Berle
1Département de médecine interne et de gériatrie, CHU Chenevier-Mondor, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Tassigny, 94000 Créteil, France.
Introduction:
Tumors of the pituitary stalk are rare and their diagnosis is sometimes difficult.
Case Report:
We report a case of a primary lymphoma of the pituitary stalk in a 78-year-old patient. To our knowledge, only seven similar cases have been previously published: prominent symptoms were headache, fatigue and diplopia; biologically, anterior pituitary low secretion or hyperprolactinemia were found in the majority of cases; regarding the imaging, only three patients presented an initial and isolated lesion of the stalk; histological evidence was obtained by a trans-sphenoidal biopsy in case of hypothalamic or pituitary associated lesion or by a trans-cranial biopsy in the event of an isolated lesion. As an alternative, a lumbar puncture could be performed; although less invasive, its diagnostic performance is lower.
Conclusion:
Current treatment relies on chemotherapy with intravenous methotrexate associated with intrathecal methotrexate infusion if cerebrospinal showed abnormal cells. Unfortunately, the results remain poor with a median survival of 9 months.
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