Current Clinical Trials

The question and selection of further treatment for patients who relapse is dependent on many factors, including the specific type of pituitary tumor, prior treatment, visual and hormonal complications, and individual patient considerations.

Standard treatment options:[1-3]

1. Radiation therapy for postsurgical recurrence, which offers a high likelihood of local control.
2. Reirradiation, which provides long-term local control and control of visual symptoms.

Treatment options under clinical evaluation:[4-6]

• Stereotactic radiation surgery.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent pituitary tumor. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.

General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI Web site.

References

1. Kovalic JJ, Grigsby PW, Fineberg BB: Recurrent pituitary adenomas after surgical resection: the role of radiation therapy. Radiology 177 (1): 273-5, 1990.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
2. Tsang RW, Brierley JD, Panzarella T, et al.: Radiation therapy for pituitary adenoma: treatment outcome and prognostic factors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 30 (3): 557-65, 1994.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
3. Schoenthaler R, Albright NW, Wara WM, et al.: Re-irradiation of pituitary adenoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 24 (2): 307-14, 1992.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
4. Sheehan JP, Kondziolka D, Flickinger J, et al.: Radiosurgery for residual or recurrent nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma. J Neurosurg 97 (5 Suppl): 408-14, 2002.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
5. Laws ER, Sheehan JP, Sheehan JM, et al.: Stereotactic radiosurgery for pituitary adenomas: a review of the literature. J Neurooncol 69 (1-3): 257-72, 2004 Aug-Sep.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
6. Picozzi P, Losa M, Mortini P, et al.: Radiosurgery and the prevention of regrowth of incompletely removed nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas. J Neurosurg 102 (Suppl): 71-4, 2005.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   

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