[Seven Patients with Pituitary Metastases Treated at Our Department:Case Reports]

Pituitary metastases(PM)are rare and show a poor prognosis. However, recent advances in diagnostic imaging could increase the chances of PM being diagnosed without a history of cancer. Furthermore, it was unclear whether adjuvant therapy could increase the survival of patients with PM or not. To clarify the clinical course of patients with PM, we report seven cases of PM with a literature review. Most patients showed symptomatic adenohypophyseal dysfunction(AD)and diabetes insipidus(DI)as initial symptoms. All patients underwent radiotherapy for PM and showed good local tumor control. However, except for one patient with improved DI, neither AD nor DI improved with radiotherapy. As for the prognosis, three patients with PM without a history of cancer survived longer than those with a history of cancer(20.3 vs. 11.7 months, respectively). In summary, early diagnosis and appropriate hormone replacement therapies are important in PM. Improvement of the general condition enables adjuvant therapy to prolong patient survival.