Radiation therapy for pituitary metastasis: report of four cases.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND To report the clinical outcomes of four patients with pituitary metastases treated with radiotherapy. METHODS Retrospective chart review of four cases. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 66 years; two were women and two were men. The mean duration of symptoms at initial presentation of the primary tumor was 2.25 months. The location of the primary tumor was the breast in one case and the lung in three. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed sellar masses in all cases. The mean interval between the primary tumor diagnosis and the development of pituitary metastases was 22.5 months. The metastases were treated with radiation therapy (palliative/stereotactic/intensity modulated) at a mean dose of 3219 cGy. At the last follow-up, three patients were dead and one was alive. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy or stereotactic radiotherapy is a suitable non-surgical option for patients with pituitary metastases.