Pituitary tumors--current concepts of diagnosis and therapy.

Familiarity with the concepts and methods of diagnosis and their limitations is essential to outline a plan of investigation for individual patients suspected of having pituitary tumors. Therapy depends somewhat on the extent of suprasellar extension, a factor which especially limits irradiation. The role of transsphenoidal and other forms of pituitary operations must await long-term follow-up. This is especially true because we do not know the role of the hypothalamus in the pathogenesis of pituitary tumors.