Two different tumors found in one spot near the pituitary gland
Original title: Case Report: Sellar collision tumor consisting of pituitary adenoma and craniopharyngioma, with literature review.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a report about one patient's care, not a test of a new treatment.
The short version
Doctors report on one woman whose single tumor turned out to be two different tumor types mixed together.
What was studied. This is a report about one patient. She was a 64 year old woman with a tumor at the base of her brain, near the pituitary gland. Doctors describe her symptoms, her surgery, and what the lab found afterward.
What they found. She felt tired and had no appetite. She also had a racing heart, dizziness, and trouble breathing when active. Tests showed her pituitary gland had stopped making its hormones, and the salts in her blood were dangerously out of balance. Her MRI scan looked like one common, ordinary tumor. Surgeons removed the tumor through her nose. The tumor was tough and fibrous, and they could not see any line between the two parts. Heavy bleeding happened during surgery, about 800 mL, because the tumor stuck tightly to nearby tissue. She was given hormone replacement afterward. She recovered steadily and went home on day 18. Only the lab tests on the tissue showed it was really two tumors together, a null cell adenoma and an adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: A scan may not always show the full picture of a pituitary tumor. Sometimes a tumor that looks simple is actually two types mixed together. Lab testing of the removed tissue is what tells doctors the true answer. If you or a loved one is having this kind of surgery, it is fair to ask what the tissue tests showed.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a new treatment, and it is not a cure. It is a report about one single patient. One person's experience cannot tell us what will happen for anyone else. Nothing here was tested in a trial, and nothing here changes standard care today. This kind of double tumor is described as very rare.
Source: PubMed, July 6, 2026 · Read the original
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