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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
Immune and clinicopathological features of molecularly defined prolactinoma subtypes
Da Peng Wang1,2, Yan Ting Liu1, Yu Ting Dai3
11Department of Neurosurgery, Center of Pituitary Tumor, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai.
Objective:
Prolactinomas are typically benign but represent a major cause of endocrine dysfunction. However, their molecular subtypes remain undefined, and clinical implications of such subtypes are unclear. The objective of this study was to characterize the genomic subtypes of prolactinomas and evaluate associated clinicopathological and immunological features.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis was conducted on 124 prolactinoma patients who underwent resection at a single center (December 2017-December 2023). Tumor specimens were subjected to RNA sequencing. Tumor immune microenvironment was evaluated using the Glasgow Microenvironment Score, with stromal and immune scores. Immune cell composition was assessed through computational deconvolution algorithms. Differentially expressed genes were validated with immunohistochemistry.
Results:
Unsupervised clustering identified two distinct molecular subtypes. G1 (stemness subtype) was characterized by gene expression profiles associated with stemness, including SOX2, SOX9, S100B, WNT1, WNT5A, GAL, CCKBR, STAT5A, STAT6, and MAPK14. These tumors exhibited a robust immune microenvironment, evidenced by high Glasgow microenvironment, stromal, and immune scores. The other subtype, G2 (proliferative subtype), was defined by elevated expression of proliferation-related genes such as POU1F1, PRL, TP53AIP1, CCND1, CDK6, ALCAM, GNAI1, SLC1A1, ANGPT1, and CDKL5 and showed minimal immune infiltration. Clinically, G1 tumors were smaller, associated with lower preoperative prolactin levels, and displayed less aggressive behavior. In contrast, G2 tumors were larger, had significantly higher preoperative prolactin levels, and exhibited more aggressive features. All observed differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Genomic profiling revealed two distinct prolactinoma subtypes-stemness (G1) and proliferative (G2)-with divergent immune landscapes and clinical behaviors. These findings offer a foundation for molecularly informed, individualized therapeutic strategies.
