Intraoperative Alcoholization of the Pituitary Gland Does Not Reduce the Recurrence Rate of Growth Hormone Secreting Pituitary Adenomas

Objective: Although the role of intraoperative alcoholization of the pituitary gland has been examined for the management of malignant tumor metastases and Rathke's cleft cysts, no such studies have been conducted relating to growth hormone (GH)—secreting pituitary tumors, despite the high rate of recurrence in this cohort of patients. Here, we sought to understand the impact of adjunctive intraoperative alcoholization of the pituitary gland on recurrence rates and perioperative complications associated with resection of GH-secreting tumors.

Methods: This is a single-institution retrospective cohort study analyzing recurrence rates and complications amongst patients with GH-secreting tumors who received intraoperative alcoholization of the pituitary gland postresection versus those that did not. Welch's t-tests and ANOVA analyses were employed to compare continuous variables between groups, while Chi-squared tests for independence or Fisher's exact tests were used for comparing categorical variables.

Results: A total of 62 patients (n = 29 no alcohol and n = 33 alcohol) were included in the final analysis. The overall recurrence rates did not significantly differ between the alcohol and no alcohol groups (27.6% vs 21.2%, respectively; p = 0.79). The average time to recurrence in the alcohol and no alcohol groups were 21.5 months and 28 months, respectively (p = 0.79), with a mean follow-up of 29.8 and 36.7 months (p = 0.48). Complications, including diabetes insipidus, were not significantly different between the alcohol and no alcohol groups (27.6% vs. 24.2%, p = 0.78).

Conclusion: Intraoperative alcoholization of the pituitary gland after resection of GH-secreting pituitary adenomas does not reduce recurrence rate or increase perioperative complications.

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
15. Februar 2022