Pituitary Tumours in Pregnancy

Pituitary adenomas are commonly found in general population. The impact of pituitary tumour on fertility are mainly due to over-secretion and/or under-secretion of pituitary hormones due to the tumour secretion per se or compression of pituitary stalk and normal pituitary tissue by the tumour. Diagnosing and managing pituitary tumours during pregnancy are faced with many challenges, including the effect of either hormone excess or hormone deficiency on pregnancy outcome, changes in the pituitary or pituitary-related hormones during pregnancy, changes in tumour size during pregnancy, and the impact of various treatments of pituitary tumours on maternal and fetal outcomes. This chapter will discuss the diagnosis and treatment of patients with prolactinomas, acromegaly, Cushing’s disease and other pituitary tumours during pregnancy.