CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ANEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH PROLACTIN-SECRETING PITUITARY TUMORS IN MEN

Pedro Iglesias , José Carlos Castro (1) , Juan J Díez (2)

1 Endocrinology
2 Endocrinology

BACKGROUND An association between prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas and anemia in male patients has been recently reported. Our aim has been to evaluate the prevalence of anemia in men with prolactinomas and to assess the relationships between hemoglobin concentrations and pituitary function at diagnosis in these patients. METHODS In a retrospective analysis 26 male patients with prolactinomas (22 macroprolactinomas and 4 microprolactinomas) were studied. Blood hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit value and baseline hormonal levels were collected at the time of prolactinoma diagnosis. The presence or absence of partial or total hypopituitarism was also evaluated at diagnosis. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the presence of anemia as a function of serum hormone concentrations and pituitary dysfunction. RESULTS Patient bearing macroprolactinomas showed significant lower hemoglobin concentrations than those found in patients with microprolactinomas (13.5 ± 1.2 g/dl vs. 15.1±0.9 g/dl, p<0.05). Anemia (hemoglobin < 13 g/dl) was present in 9 (34.6%) patients, all of them with macroprolactinomas. The degree of anemia was mild (hemoglobin > 11 g/dl) in all patients. No correlation between hemoglobin and serum prolactin was found. Hemoglobin concentration was significantly lower in men with hypogonadism (n=14) than in eugonadal men. Hemoglobin value was also significantly lower in patients with total hypopituitarism in comparison with subjects with partial hypopituitarism (12.4±1.0 g/dl, n=7 vs. 14.0±1.2 g/dl, n=13 p=0.007). The number of affected pituitary axes was found to be related with the presence of anemia. Logistic regression analysis showed that anemia was related with FT4 (OR 0.23; 95% C.I. 0.06-0.81, p=0.02), cortisol (OR 0.81; 95% C.I. 0.68-0.96, p=0.02) and the presence of hypopituitarism (OR 20.0; 95% C.I. 1.68-238.63, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS Anemia was found in about a third of men with prolactinomas. Our results also suggest that the presence of anemia in these patients seems to be associated with panhypopituitarism.

Mots clés: Medicine

Pedro Iglesias, José Carlos Castro, Juan J Díez. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ANEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH PROLACTIN-SECRETING PITUITARY TUMORS IN MEN. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2011, 65 (6), pp.669. ⟨10.1111/j.1742-1241.2011.02662.x⟩. ⟨hal-00640462⟩