AccScience Publishing / GTM / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/gtm.8474
BRIEF REPORT

A comparison of pathology examination and immunohistochemistry in studying pituitary adenomas

Ach Taieb1,2,3* El Arem Marwa1,2 Abdessaied Nihed1,4 Ach Koussay1,2
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1 Department of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia
2 Department of Diabetology, University Hospital of Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia
3 Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Pathophysiology; L.R.19ES09, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia
4 Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia
Global Translational Medicine, 8474 https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.8474
Submitted: 9 January 2025 | Revised: 9 February 2025 | Accepted: 24 February 2025 | Published: 24 March 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

The integration of clinical, biochemical, radiological, and pathological data is crucial for diagnosing and managing pituitary adenomas (PAs). The objective of the study is to compare the clinical and biochemical classifications of PAs with their histopathological findings to improve diagnosis and treatment. This study characterized the clinical, hormonal, and pathological profiles of 40 patients with histologically confirmed PAs. Histopathological analysis identified eosinophilic adenomas in 75% of cases, amphophilic adenomas in 15%, and basophilic adenomas in 10%. Hormonal profiling revealed 22.5% prolactinomas, 15% somatotroph adenomas, 0.5% Cushing disease, and 57.5% non-functioning adenomas. Morphologically, tumors exhibited solid (55%), trabecular (30%), and papillary (15%) growth patterns. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis revealed monohormonal secretion in 31.5%, mixed growth hormone/prolactin secretion in 39.4%, and plurihormonal secretion in 28.9% of cases. In conclusion, this study highlights prolactinomas as the most prevalent subtype, underscoring the critical role of integrating histopathological and IHC findings for accurate diagnosis and classification of adenomas.

Keywords
Adenomas
Pathology
Immunohistochemistry
Hormones
Pituitary
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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Global Translational Medicine, Electronic ISSN: 2811-0021 Print ISSN: 3060-8600, Published by AccScience Publishing