Generally, MRI or CT scans can detect tumors in the pituitary gland. Blood and urine tests can also determine hormone levels in an individual.
However, even when using a microscope to diagnose pituitary cancer, experts may find it hard to distinguish between a cancerous and a noncancerous pituitary tumor.
Experts may not recognize a cancerous tumor until it spreads into another part of a person's body.
Pituitary cancer spreads equally to areas both inside and outside the brain. The tumor is likely to spread in many distant areas of an individual's body, including:
• other parts of the brain and brain blood vessels
• the spinal cord
• the eyes
• the lymph nodes
• certain organs, such as the lungs, heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and ovaries