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Immunohistochemistry of Pituitary Adenomas

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Diseases of the Pituitary

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE,volume 3))

Abstract

The use of immunohistochemical staining has had a considerable impact on general surgical pathology, where it serves to clarify the diagnosis on confusing cases. In contrast, immunohistochemistry for pituitary adenomas is seldom necessary to make the diagnosis but has, along with transmission electron microscopy, served as the backbone for a modern classification system of adenoma subtypes. The surety with which most pituitary adenomas are diagnosed preoperatively via their clinical presentations, serum hormone values, and/or radio-graphic studies of the sellar region (usually magnetic resonance imaging) often make the role of the pathologist or neuropathologist who sees pituitary adenomas under the microscope one of confirmation (1). Only occasionally do other sellar masses mimic pituitary adenomas preoperatively, and then the light microscopic appearance, either at the time of frozen or permanent histological section, is usually all that is necessary to identify the type of tumor. Rarely is it necessary to employ immunohistochemistry for the differential diagnosis of sellar region masses.

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Authors
  1. B. K. Kleinschmidt-DeMasters MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA

    Margaret E. Wierman MD

  2. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Denver, CO, USA

    Margaret E. Wierman MD

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© 1997 Humana Press Inc.

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Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, B.K. (1997). Immunohistochemistry of Pituitary Adenomas. In: Wierman, M.E. (eds) Diseases of the Pituitary. Contemporary Endocrinology, vol 3. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3954-3_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3954-3_19

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8438-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3954-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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