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Pituitary Adenomas in Children: : Specific Imaging Features According to Hormonal Secretion

Fares Kassem1,2,3, Raphael Levy1,2,3, Arnault Tauziède-Espariat4

  • 1Hôpital Universitaire Necker-Enfants Malades, Department of Pediatric Radiology, AP-HP, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015, Paris, France.

Clinical Neuroradiology
|February 7, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric pituitary adenomas, though rare, exhibit distinct imaging features. Larger, more aggressive tumors with higher T2 signal intensity may indicate lactotroph or somatotroph adenomas in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Neuroradiology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Pituitary adenomas are uncommon in pediatric populations compared to adults.
  • Understanding their specific imaging characteristics is crucial for diagnosis and management in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the imaging features of pituitary adenomas in children.
  • To compare these characteristics based on hormonal secretion type.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective observational study of clinical and imaging data from 31 children with pituitary adenomas.
  • Assessment of tumoral signal intensity (T1, T2), volume, and aggressiveness.
  • Comparison of imaging features across different hormonal secretion types (lactotroph, corticotroph, somatotroph, plurihormonal).

Main Results:

  • Lactotroph and somatotroph adenomas were larger and more aggressive than corticotroph adenomas.
  • Tumors associated with lactotroph and somatotroph adenomas showed higher T2-weighted signal intensity.
  • MEN1 mutations were identified in 80% of the 20 children genetically tested.

Conclusions:

  • Imaging characteristics of pediatric pituitary adenomas can suggest the underlying hormonal secretion.
  • While rare, pituitary adenomas in children share some imaging similarities with adult counterparts.
  • Genetic analysis revealed a high prevalence of MEN1 mutations in this cohort.
Abstract

Keywords:
AdenomaChildrenImagingMRIPituitary

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