OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics, therapeutic methods and prognostic factors of macroprolactinoma in male patients. METHODS: The clinical data of 103 male patients with macroprolactinoma were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: (1) The main symptoms were decreased libido or impotence, headache and hypoplasia. (2) About 57.8% of the patients treated with dopaminergic agonist achieved complete remission, while only 5.7% of the patients achieved complete remission after surgery (chi(2) = 54.148, P < 0.001). Fifty-nine patients who did not completely respond to surgery received other therapeutic methods, including dopaminergic agonist, radiotherapy or combination of them, but no differences were found among these three methods (chi(2) = 3.373, P = 0.498). (3) Patients with invasive tumors had worse prognosis than those with non-invasive tumors; there were no effects of age, duration of the disease, size of tumor, serum prolactin levels or presence of pituitary apoplexy on the prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Dopaminergic agonist is the treatment of first-choice for male macroprolactinoma. Invasive tumor indicates a poor outcome.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics, therapeutic methods and prognostic factors of macroprolactinoma in male patients. METHODS: The clinical data of 103 male patients with macroprolactinoma were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: (1) The main symptoms were decreased libido or impotence, headache and hypoplasia. (2) About 57.8% of the patients treated with dopaminergic agonist achieved complete remission, while only 5.7% of the patients achieved complete remission after surgery (chi(2) = 54.148, P < 0.001). Fifty-nine patients who did not completely respond to surgery received other therapeutic methods, including dopaminergic agonist, radiotherapy or combination of them, but no differences were found among these three methods (chi(2) = 3.373, P = 0.498). (3) Patients with invasive tumors had worse prognosis than those with non-invasive tumors; there were no effects of age, duration of the disease, size of tumor, serum prolactin levels or presence of pituitary apoplexy on the prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Dopaminergic agonist is the treatment of first-choice for male macroprolactinoma. Invasive tumor indicates a poor outcome.