Tumour microenvironment and pituitary tumour behaviour

The pituitary tumour microenvironment encompasses a spectrum of non-tumoural cells, such as immune, stromal or endothelial cells, as well as enzymes and signalling peptides like cytokines, chemokines and growth factors, which surround the tumour cells and may influence pituitary tumour behaviour and tumourigenic mechanisms. Recently, there has been intensive research activity in this field describing various pituitary tumour-infiltrating immune and stromal cell subpopulations, and immune- and microenvironment-related pathways. Key changes in oncological therapeutic avenues resulted in the recognition of pituitary as a target of adverse events for patients treated with immune checkpoint regulators. However, these phenomena can be turned into therapeutic advantage in severe cases of pituitary tumours. Therefore, unravelling the pituitary tumour microenvironment will allow a better understanding of the biology and behaviour of pituitary tumours and may provide further developments in terms of diagnosis and management of patients with aggressively growing or recurrent pituitary tumours.

Automated summary

The pituitary tumour microenvironment consists of various non-tumoural cells and signaling peptides, which can influence the behavior and development of pituitary tumours. Recent research has focused on immune and stromal cell subpopulations infiltrating pituitary tumours, as well as immune- and microenvironment-related pathways. Understanding the pituitary tumour microenvironment can improve the diagnosis and management of patients with aggressive or recurrent tumours.