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. 2020 Apr;81(2):180-186.
doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1683435. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

A Population-Level Analysis of Pituitary Carcinoma from the National Cancer Database

Ryan M Carey  1 , Edward C Kuan  1 , Alan D Workman  1 , Neil N Patel  1 , Michael A Kohanski  1 , Charles C L Tong  1 , Jinbo Chen  2 , James N Palmer  1 , Nithin D Adappa  1 , Jason A Brant  1
Affiliations

A Population-Level Analysis of Pituitary Carcinoma from the National Cancer Database

Ryan M Carey et al. J Neurol Surg B Skull Base. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives Pituitary carcinoma is a rare entity with fewer than 200 total cases reported in the English literature. Analysis of the population-level data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) affords the opportunity to study this poorly understood tumor type. Methods The NCDB was queried for site, histology, and metastasis codes corresponding to pituitary carcinoma. Statistical analyses were performed to determine factors associated with overall survival (OS). Results A total of 92 patients with pituitary carcinoma met inclusion criteria. The 1 and 5 years of OS for all patients was 93.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 88.2-98.6%) and 80.0% (95% CI: 71.6-89.4%), respectively. Patients with invasive primary tumor behavior had 1 and 5 years of OS of 69.2% (95% CI: 48.2-99.5%) and 52.7% (95% CI: 31.2-89.2%), respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that compared with benign primary behavior, invasive behavior had increased all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1,296, 95% CI: 15.1- > 2,000). Surgery without adjuvant radiation or chemotherapy was the most common therapy (48.9%), followed by no treatment (40.2%). Compared with surgery alone, no treatment had worse OS (HR, 11.83, 95% CI: 1.41-99.56). Increasing age and female sex were both associated with increased mortality. Conclusions The most common treatment for pituitary carcinoma is surgery alone followed by no surgery. Surgery alone has significantly better OS compared with no treatment. The efficacy of radiation, chemotherapy, and neurohormonal treatments needs to be examined with prospective studies.

Keywords: National Cancer Database; outcomes; overall survival; pituitary; pituitary carcinoma; skull base.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Unadjusted Kaplan–Meier chart for overall survival of patients with pituitary carcinoma based on tumor behavior. OS, overall survival.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Unadjusted Kaplan–Meier chart for overall survival of patients with pituitary carcinoma based on treatment received.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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