Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Pituitary Tumors
Your pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland at the base of your brain. The pituitary is the "master control gland" - it makes hormones that affect growth and the functions of other glands in the body.
Pituitary tumors are common, but often they don't cause health problems. Most people with pituitary tumors never even know they have them. The most common type of pituitary tumor produces hormones and disrupts the balance of hormones in your body. This can cause endocrine diseases such as Cushing's syndrome and hyperthyroidism.
Symptoms of pituitary tumors include:
- Headaches
- Vision problems
- Nausea and vomiting
- Problems caused by the production of too many hormones
Pituitary tumors are usually curable. Treatment is often surgery to remove the tumor. Other options include medicines, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
It sits within Cancers and Endocrine System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Pituitary Tumors
288 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- An Investigation of Pituitary Tumors and Related Hypothalmic DisordersEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Evaluation and Treatment of Neurosurgical DisordersNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
- Perimetry Based on Eye-movements in Patients With (Supra)Sellar TumorsUniversity Medical Center Groningen
- Dopamine Agonist Treatment of Non-functioning Pituitary AdenomasSt. Olavs Hospital
- Fimepinostat, Combination HDAC and Pi3-kinase Inhibitor Tumor-Directed Therapy for Cushing DiseaseUniversity of California, Los Angeles
- Randomized Controlled Clinical Study on the Prophylactic Intraoperative Use of Desmopressin in Complex Sellar Region TumorsZhaoyun Zhang
Research already completed
- Effect of Dexmedetomidine on Quality of Recovery in Non-functioning Pituitary Adenoma Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Transsphenoidal SurgerySeoul National University Hospital
- Defining the Genetic Basis for the Development of Primary Pigmented Nodular Adrenocortical Disease (PPNAD) and the Carney ComplexEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- The Effect of Local Anesthesia on Postopanalgesia in Patients Using Head HolderKocaeli University
- Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in People With Aggressive Pituitary TumorsMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- About Pituitary TumorsEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Pituitary TumorsEndocrine Society
- Pituitary TumorsNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- Pituitary TumorsAmerican Cancer Society
- What Are Pituitary Tumors?National Cancer Institute
Symptoms
- Pituitary Tumors Signs and SymptomsNational Cancer Institute
- What Are the Symptoms of Pituitary Tumors?Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Diagnosis and Tests
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH)National Library of Medicine
- Brain MRI (Head MRI)Radiological Society of North America
- Growth Hormone TestsNational Library of Medicine
- IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor 1) TestNational Library of Medicine
- Pituitary Tumors Diagnosis and PrognosisNational Cancer Institute
- Prolactin LevelsNational Library of Medicine
- Tests for Pituitary TumorsAmerican Cancer Society
- TSH (Thyroid-stimulating hormone) testNational Library of Medicine
Treatments and Therapies
- Pituitary Tumors TreatmentNational Cancer Institute
Related Issues
- After Pituitary Tumor TreatmentAmerican Cancer Society
Genetics
- Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention of Pituitary TumorsAmerican Cancer Society
- Familial isolated pituitary adenoma: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Statistics and Research
- Key Statistics About Pituitary TumorsAmerican Cancer Society
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Pituitary NeoplasmsNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: ProlactinomaNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Pituitary Neoplasms. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Pituitary Tumors, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.