[Etiopathogenesis of pituitary tumors]

In this present work, the authors discuss some recent advances in the pathogenesis of pituitary tumours. The model of transgenic mice suggest that chronic hormonal stimulation and some growth factors could sustain pituitary tumour development. However, these data are not suitable for human pituitary adenomas. The evidence that most pituitary adenomas are monoclonal in origin has prompted a search for somatic mutations. The mutated Gs alpha are found in only 30-40% of somatotroph adenomas and the ras mutations seem to be associated with the malignant transformation. In some prolactinomas resistant to the bromocriptine treatment, quantitative and qualitative alterations of the dopamine receptor D2, have been described. Mutations of protein kinase C have been identified in some invasive pituitary tumours. Molecular abnormalities have been reported in some cases (allele loss at the 11q13 locus, retinoblastoma gene mutation, aberrant expression of hst gene, Pit-1 overexpression) but none by itself can explain the tumour formation. The pituitary tumorigenesis is certainly a multistep process with the intervention of multiple promoting factors.