Transsphenoidal Surgery of Invasive Corticotroph Adenomas: Results in A Series of 86 Consecutive Patients
Authors: Dai Congxin , Feng Ming , Lu Lin , Sun Bowen , Fan Yanghua , Bao Xinjie , Yao Yong , Deng Kan , Wang Renzhi , Kang Jun 
Published: August 2021

Objective: Surgery is first-line treatment for corticotroph adenomas. Although most of corticotroph adenomas are noninvasive microadenomas that show expansive growth to surrounding tissues, a small subset of them is locally invasive and difficult to manage. The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical outcome of invasive corticotroph adenomas from a single-center. Patients and Methods: The clinical features and outcomes of CD patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) between January 2000 and September 2019 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital were collected from medical records. The clinical, endocrinological, radiological, histopathological, surgical outcomes and a minimum 12-month follow-up of 86 consecutive CD patients with invasive corticotroph adenomas were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Eighty-six patients with invasive corticotroph adenomas were included in the study. The average age at TSS was 37.7 years (range, 12 to 67 years), with a female-to-male ratio of 3.1:1 (65/21). The median duration of symptoms was 52.6 months (range, 1.0 to 264 months). The average of maximum diameter of tumor was 17.6 mm (range, 4.5–70 mm). All 86 patients with invasive corticotroph adenomas were performed TSS by microscopic or endoscopic approach. Gross-total resection was achieved in 63 patients (73.3%), subtotal resection in 18 (20.9%), and partial resection in 5 (5.8%). After surgery, the overall postoperative immediate remission rate was 48.8% (42/86), 51.2 % (44/86) of patients maintained persistent hypercortisolism. In 42 patients with initial remission, 16.7 % (7/42) of them experienced a recurrence. In these patients with persistent disease and recurrent CD, data about further treatment was available for 30 patients. The radiotherapy was used for 15 patients, and 4 (26.7%) of them achieved biochemical remission. Repeat TSS was performed in 5 patients, and none achieved remission. Medication was administrated in 4 patients, and one of them obtained disease control. Adrenalectomy was performed in 6 patients, and 5 (83.3 %) achieved biochemical remission. At last follow-up, (33.3%) 10 of 30 patients were in remission, and 20 patients still had persistent disease. The remission rate in patients with invasive corticotroph adenomas who underwent gross-total resection and first TSS were significantly higher than that in patients undergoing subtotal resection, partial resection, and a second TSS (all P＜0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the remission rate between patient with different tumor size, Knosp Grade and surgical approaches (P＞0.05).Conclusion: The management of invasive corticotroph adenomas remain a therapeutic challenge due to incomplete resection of invasive and/or a large adenoma. With application of multiple techniques assistance, approximately half of the patients could achieve gross-total resection and biochemical remission via TSS by experienced neurosurgeons. The extent of tumor resection and number of operations were associated with surgical remission rate in invasive corticotroph adenomas. If the remission was not achieved by surgery, other treatments including radiotherapy, medical therapy, and even bilateral adrenalectomy are required.