[A juvenile male prolactinoma: a case report]

Male prolactinomas often become voluminous and invasive, and also show higher serum prolactin levels due to delay of diagnosis. We experienced a case of prolactinoma in a 15-year-old boy. He was admitted with a complaint of visual disturbance. CT and MRI showed intra- and suprasellar mass with a ring enhancement and niveau formation suggesting intratumoral hemorrhage. By the right subfrontotemporal approach, subtotal tumor removal was performed, and intratumoral hemorrhage was identified. Histological examination confirmed the existence of chromophobe adenoma and, furthermore, immunohistochemical study revealed the existence of a prolactinoma. The size of the tumor gradually diminished with the administration of bromocriptine, and serum prolactin levels returned to normal value during the postoperative course. Among all cases of prolactinomas reported in previous medical literature only 23 cases of patients under 20 years old have been reported. The authors analysed our case of prolactinoma along with other infrequent cases where intratumoral hemorrhage was especially noticeable.