MİTHAT BAHCECİ, ALPARSLAN TUZCU, SADİYE TUZCU
Endocrinology Research and Practice - 2002;6(4):159-162
Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas are rare tumors, and prevalence is about one case per million. Normal or elevated thyrotropin levels in hyperthyroid patients are characteristic of TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma. Because TSH-secreting pituitary tumors are uncommon, subjects with TSH-omas are often misdiagnosed as having Graves' disease, and misdiagnosis may leads to enlargement of tumor size. We present a patient with thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma misdiagnosed as Graves' disease. The patient has high T3, FT3, FT4 and TSH, and she has a pituitary microadenoma (9 mm). Once the inappropriate secretion of TSH is established, the differential diagnosis between TSH-secreting tumor and resistance to thyroid hormone must be made.
