Comprehensive clinical analysis of patients with primary malignant tumor of pituitary gland: A population-based study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aims to perform a comprehensive clinical analysis of patients with primary malignant pituitary tumors (PMPT) that involves incidence, demographics, treatments, long-term survival, and death causes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with PMPT were identified from registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Frequencies and average annual age-adjusted rate (AAR) were calculated for incidence trend analyses using Join-point regression. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify potential prognostic factors associated with patients' survival outcomes. Using the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test, survival curves were plotted and compared, respectively. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance baseline characteristics. RESULTS: The AAR for PMPT was 0.233 (95%CI: 0.205–0.264) per 1,000,000 using nine SEER registries from 1975 to 2017. The incidence trend has declined over years but without significance (–1.04% per year, P = 0.10). Besides, older age may indicate a higher incidence rate for both pediatric and adult patients. From 18 SEER registries, a total of 501 PMPT patients were also identified. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression showed age, sex, tumor extent, and marital status were independent prognostic factors for malignant pituitary tumors. Via PSM, we found that patients who received surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy did not demonstrate significantly different survival than those who did not. CONCLUSION: This study first conducts a comprehensive clinical analysis of patients with PMPT and provides guide effects on future study designs. More studies should be conducted to focus on its characteristics and therapy.