Transsphenoidal surgery is the treatment of choice for patients with thyrotropic adenomas.[1] Adjuvant radiation therapy may be employed when surgery is known to be noncurative even if the patient is still euthyroid because relapse is inevitable, and the full effect of radiation therapy requires months or years. Medical therapy may be required for patients who still have hyperthyroid symptoms despite surgery and external radiation. Somatostatin analogues are the drugs of choice for treatment; however, the efficacy of treatment may wane with time.[1,2,3,4]

STANDARD TREATMENT OPTIONS:[1,2,3,4]

1. Surgery (usually a transsphenoidal approach).
2. Somatostatin analogues, such as octreotide.

References:

1. Brucker-Davis F, Oldfield EH, Skarulis MC, et al.: Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary tumors: diagnostic criteria, thyroid hormone sensitivity, and treatment outcome in 25 patients followed at the National Institutes of Health. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 84 (2): 476-86, 1999.
2. Levy A: Pituitary disease: presentation, diagnosis, and management. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 75 (Suppl 3): iii47-52, 2004.
3. Caron P, Arlot S, Bauters C, et al.: Efficacy of the long-acting octreotide formulation (octreotide-LAR) in patients with thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86 (6): 2849-53, 2001.
4. Teramoto A, Sanno N, Tahara S, et al.: Pathological study of thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma: plurihormonality and medical treatment. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 108 (2): 147-53, 2004.