Cabergoline treatment for a large macroprolactinoma throughout pregnancy

Management of macroprolactinomas

Prolactin (PRL) secreting tumors are the most common functional neoplasms of the pituitary and are commonly subdivided into microprolactinomas (<10 mm) and macroprolactinomas (≥10 mm) according to their baseline diameter. Patients with prolactinoma present with symptoms evolving from hyperprolactinemia and with those caused by pressure of the expanding mass on surrounding tissues, including the optic chiasm and the cavernous sinuses. We hereby describe the possible complications of macroprolactinomas, including mass effects, hypopituitarism, CSF leak and apoplexy and discuss their relevant management.

In general, all patients harboring macroprolactinomas should be treated, the objectives being to achieve normal or near normal PRL levels, to reduce or stabilize adenoma size and to recover altered pituitary axes. Medical therapy with dopamine agonists (DA) is the preferred initial treatment for the vast majority of patients harboring prolactinomas. Pituitary surgery is indicated in patients who cannot tolerate or are resistant to therapy with DAs, patients that seek fertility and harbor adenomas that impinge on the optic chiasm, psychiatric patients with contraindication to DA treatment and patients presenting with pituitary apoplexy or a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. In addition, in this review, several patient populations with unique clinical characteristics will be discussed separately namely postmenopausal women, the elderly, children and patients with pituitary carcinoma.

Managing Prolactinomas during Pregnancy

Prolactinomas are the most prevalent functional benign pituitary tumors due to a pituitary micro- or macroadenoma. The majority of patients presents with infertility and gonadal dysfunction. A dopamine agonist (DA) (bromocriptine or cabergoline) is the treatment of choice that can normalize prolactin levels, reduce tumor size, and restore ovulation and fertility. Cabergoline generally preferred over bromocriptine because of its higher efficacy and tolerability. Managing prolactinomas during pregnancy may be challenging. During pregnancy, the pituitary gland undergoes global hyperplasia due to a progressive increase in serum estrogens level that may lead to increase of the tumor volume with potential mass effect and visual loss. The risk of tumor enlargement may occur in 3% of those with microadenomas, 32% in those with macroadenomas that were not previously operated on, and 4.8% of those with macroadenomas with prior ablative treatment. Though both drugs appear to be safe during pregnancy, the data on fetal exposure to DAs during pregnancy have been reported with bromocriptine far exceeds that of cabergoline with no association of increased risk of pregnancy loss and premature delivery. It is advisable to stop the use of DAs immediately once pregnancy is confirmed, except in the case of women with invasive macroprolactinomas or pressure symptoms. This review outlines the therapeutic approach to prolactinoma during pregnancy, with emphasis on the safety of available DA therapy.

Prolactinomas, cabergoline, and pregnancy

Hyperprolactinemia, frequently caused by a prolactinoma, is an important cause of infertility among young women. Dopamine agonists (DA) are the treatment of choice. Although cabergoline (CAB) is currently considered the gold standard DA, bromocriptine (BRC) remains the drug of choice for women desiring pregnancy, as it was proven to be safe in more than 6,000 pregnancies. The purpose of this review is to perform a critical evaluation of CAB safety in pregnancy, as it is used by most patients harboring prolactinomas. Although the number of CAB-induced pregnancies (about 800) is still reduced as compared with those under BRC treatment, data in the literature do not point to increase risk of preterm delivery or fetal malformations, comparing to pregnancies induced by BRC and those in the general population. Moreover, CAB use throughout pregnancy was reported in about ten cases, without evidence of any harm to fetal development. Therefore, even though BRC still remains the recommended DA drug for pregnancy induction or use during pregnancy in women with prolactinomas, increasing evidences point to the safety of CAB for this purpose.

Effects of cabergoline on pregnancy and embryo-fetal development: retrospective study on 103 pregnancies and a review of the literature

The aim of the study is to assess the rate of any potential adverse effects on women who became pregnant under cabergoline (CAB) treatment and to evaluate any effects on the embryo-fetal development and on children who were born from mothers exposed to CAB in early weeks of gestation. Observational, retrospective and multicenter study on 103 pregnancies in 90 women with hyperprolactinemia. All patients were under CAB at conception. Serum prolactin at baseline was between 30 and 1921 ng/ml. Duration of therapy before pregnancy ranged from 1 to 120 months and doses ranged from 0.125 to 5 mg/week. Fetal exposure ranged from 3 to 25 weeks, 96.9% of patients received CAB during the first trimester of pregnancy and the rest until the second one. No significant complications during pregnancy were found. Seven women (7.2%) had spontaneous abortions. Preterm deliveries were recorded in eight (8.8%), only one with low weight for gestational age. Neonatal abnormalities were observed in 3 (3.6%): 1 major (Down syndrome) and 2 minor malformations (umbilical and inguinal hernia). We were able to asses the children's development in 61. Two had epilepsy and two had Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). No significantly higher frequency of complications was found in pregnancies and/or offspring exposed to CAB than in the normal population. We registered 2 abnormalities in the development of the children: epilepsy and PDD. Larger series of patients are needed to assess the safety of this drug during pregnancy.

Guidelines of the Pituitary Society for the diagnosis and management of prolactinomas

In June 2005, an ad hoc Expert Committee formed by the Pituitary Society convened during the 9th International Pituitary Congress in San Diego, California. Members of this committee consisted of invited international experts in the field, and included endocrinologists and neurosurgeons with recognized expertise in the management of prolactinomas. Discussions were held that included all interested participants to the Congress and resulted in formulation of these guidelines, which represent the current recommendations on the diagnosis and management of prolactinomas based upon comprehensive analysis and synthesis of all available data.