Salmon roe-like amyloid deposition in a prolactinoma: a case report.

An unusual case of prolactin-producing adenoma with extensive amyloid deposition is reported to clarify its radiological, intraoperative, and light- and electron-microscopic findings. A 41-year-old female patient complained of amenorrhea persisting for 20 years. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a pituitary adenoma, which included low-intensity spots on T1- and T2-weighted images. Intraoperative examination found multiple small, yellowish, spherical masses resembling salmon roe within the adenoma. Light and electron microscopy revealed the presence of immunoreactive cells for prolactin intermingled with concentric lamellar bodies of radially arranged amyloid fibrils originating from the endoplasmic reticulum in prolactinoma cells. The extracellular lamellar amyloid deposits were apparently due to degradation of prolactin-producing cells, but the reason for the production and radially arranged accumulation of amyloid remains to be identified.