Dopamine Agonist Treatment of Non-functioning Pituitary Adenomas
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2026-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Due to lack of hormone overproduction in non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs), only the
symptomatic adenomas or large adenomas with proven growth and risk for symptoms in near
future will undergo pituitary surgery. The remaining adenomas are monitored regularly.
Operation of these large adenomas will rarely remove all tumour tissue, and there is also a
risk of worsening of pituitary function. Often, adenomas with the highest growth potential
are operated several times and some also need radiation therapy, providing additional risk
for pituitary failure. Unlike some of the hormone-producing adenomas, there is no established
pharmacological treatment for NFPAs. However, there are a few non-randomized studies
suggesting that treatment with dopamine agonists may slow growth, and also induce tumour
shrinkage. At present, cabergoline is the dopamine agonist most widely used in the treatment
of pituitary adenomas secreting prolactin.
Aim is to study the effect of medical treatment with cabergoline in non-functioning pituitary
adenomas on the change in tumour volume.