Endoscopic, Endonasal Transsphenoidal Surgery for Tumors of the Sellar and Suprasellar Region: A Monocentric Historical Cohort Study of 369 Patients

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain is increasingly used both in research and in clinical medicine, and scanner hardware and MRI sequences are continually being improved. These advances are likely to result in the detection of unexpected, asymptomatic brain abnormalities, such as brain tumors, aneurysms, and subclinical vascular pathologic changes. We conducted a study to determine the prevalence of such incidental brain findings in the general population. The subjects were 2000 persons (mean age, 63.3 years; range, 45.7 to 96.7) from the population-based Rotterdam Study in whom high-resolution, structural brain MRI (1.5 T) was performed according to a standardized protocol. Two trained reviewers recorded all brain abnormalities, including asymptomatic brain infarcts. The volume of white-matter lesions was quantified in milliliters with the use of automated postprocessing techniques. Two experienced neuroradiologists reviewed all incidental findings. All diagnoses were based on MRI findings, and additional histologic confirmation was not obtained. Asymptomatic brain infarcts were present in 145 persons (7.2%). Among findings other than infarcts, cerebral aneurysms (1.8%) and benign primary tumors (1.6%), mainly meningiomas, were the most frequent. The prevalence of asymptomatic brain infarcts and meningiomas increased with age, as did the volume of white-matter lesions, whereas aneurysms showed no age-related increase in prevalence. Incidental brain findings on MRI, including subclinical vascular pathologic changes, are common in the general population. The most frequent are brain infarcts, followed by cerebral aneurysms and benign primary tumors. Information on the natural course of these lesions is needed to inform clinical management. Copyright 2007 Massachusetts Medical Society.

Pituitary adenomas may hypersecrete hormones or cause mass effects. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are important.

We present 25 pituitary adenomas that were confirmed surgically to have invaded the cavernous sinus space. The surgical results are compared with the preoperative magnetic resonance imaging findings. For comparable radiological criteria, we classified parasellar growth into five grades. This proposed classification is based on coronal sections of unenhanced and gadolinium diethylene-triamine-pentaacetic acid enhanced magnetic resonance imaging scans, with the readily detectable internal carotid artery serving as the radiological landmark. The anatomical, radiological, and surgical conditions of each grade are considered. Grades 0, 1, 2, and 3 are distinguished from each other by a medial tangent, the intercarotid line--through the cross-sectional centers--and a lateral tangent on the intra- and supracavernous internal carotid arteries. Grade 0 represents the normal condition, and Grade 4 corresponds to the total encasement of the intracavernous carotid artery. According to this classification, surgically proven invasion of the cavernous sinus space was present in all Grade 4 and Grade 3 cases and in all but one of the Grade 2 cases; no invasion was present in Grade 0 and Grade 1 cases. Therefore, the critical area where invasion of the cavernous sinus space becomes very likely and can be proven surgically is located between the intercarotid line and the lateral tangent, which is represented by our Grade 2. We also measured tumor growth rates, using the monoclonal antibody KI-67, which shows a statistically higher proliferation rate (P < 0.001) in adenomas with surgically observed invasion into the cavernous sinus space, as compared with noninvasive adenomas.