Observations on the pattern of pituitary adenomas in a major neurosurgical unit in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

A hospital-based series of 83 consecutive patients (42 Saudis and 41 non-Saudis) with pituitary adenomas from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was retrospectively analyzed. While the demographic and clinical features were not different from those reported previously, this series differed from most other series in the following aspects: (1) Nonsecreting adenoma was the prevailing type; (2) The percentage of microadenoma was comparatively low; (3) There were more men than women with prolactinomas. These differences could have resulted from an unusually low number of Saudi women with prolactin secreting microadenoma. The relative frequency of growth hormone secreting adenomas was significantly lower in Saudis than non-Saudis (4.8% versus 36.6%). Yemeni patients in this series showed a specially high incidence of acromegaly (57%). Our findings suggest that some regional and probably ethnic variations may exist in the pattern of pituitary adenoma.