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Classification, Pathobiology, Molecular Markers, and Intraoperative Pathology

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Transsphenoidal Surgery

Abstract

Tumors of the pituitary gland and sellar region represent approximately 15% of all brain tumors (Ostrom et al., Neuro Oncol 16: iv1–iv63, 2014). Numerous types of tumors may involve the sellar region, reflecting its complex anatomy. Table 9.1 lists the most frequent tumors arising in this region. The most common tumors are, by far, the pituitary adenomas representing the third most common primary intracranial tumor in neurosurgical practice, outnumbered only by gliomas and meningiomas (Ostrom et al., Neuro Oncol 16: iv1–iv63, 2014).

In this chapter, we will highlight the main histopathological and molecular genetics aspects of pituitary neuroendocrine (i.e., adenomas) and non-neuroendocrine tumors involving the pituitary gland.

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  1. Department of Pathology, University of Virginia School of Medicine and Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    M. Beatriz S. Lopes MD, PhD

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Edward R. Laws, Jr

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Indianapolis Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medical College New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Theodore H. Schwartz

  4. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Jason P. Sheehan

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Lopes, M.B.S. (2017). Classification, Pathobiology, Molecular Markers, and Intraoperative Pathology. In: Laws, Jr, E.R., Cohen-Gadol, A.A., Schwartz, T.H., Sheehan, J.P. (eds) Transsphenoidal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56691-7_9

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