A prognostic clinicopathologic classification of pituitary endocrine tumors.

Pituitary endocrine tumors are considered as benign. However, clinical and pathological data favor their consideration as more than an endocrinological disease. Using data from a retrospective case-control study of 410 patients, with 8 years of follow-up, the authors have validated a new clinicopathologic classification of pituitary tumors. This classification is based on tumor size, immunohistochemical type, and grade based on the assessment of invasion and proliferation, and it provides a prognostic value for predicting postoperative disease-free outcome or recurrence/progression status. This classification aids the identification of patients presenting with pituitary tumors that have a high risk of recurrence and enable construction of personalized therapies.