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An Investigation of Pituitary Tumors and Related Hypothalmic Disorders

NCT00001595 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 2000

Last updated 2026-05-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

There is a variety of tumors affecting the pituitary gland in childhood; some of these tumors (eg craniopharyngioma) are included among the most common central nervous system tumors in childhood. The gene(s) involved in the pathogenesis of these tumors are largely not known; their possible association with other developmental defects or inheritance pattern(s) has not been investigated. The present study serves as a (i) screening/training, and, (ii) a research protocol.

As a screening and training study, this protocol allows our Institute to admit children with tumors of the hypothalamic-pituitary unit to the pediatric endocrine clinics and wards of the NIH Clinical Center for the purposes of

(i) training our fellows and students in the identification of genetic defects associated with pituitary tumor formation, and

(ii) teaching our fellows and students the recognition, management and complications of pituitary tumors

As a research study, this protocol aims at

(i) developing new clinical studies for the recognition and therapy of pituitary tumors; as an example, two new studies have emerged within the context of this protocol: (a) investigation of a new research magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tool and its usefulness in the identification of pituitary tumors, and (b) investigation of the psychological effects of cortisol secretion in pediatric patients with Cushing disease. Continuation of this protocol will eventually lead to new, separate protocols that will address all aspects of diagnosis of pituitary tumors and their therapy in childhood.

(ii) Identifying the genetic components of pituitary oncogenesis; those will be investigated by (a) studying the inheritance pattern of pituitary tumors in childhood and their possible association with other conditions in the families of the patients, and (ii) collecting tumor tissues and examining their molecular genetics. As with the clinical studies, the present protocol may help generate ideas for future studies on the treatment and clinical follow up of pediatric patients with tumors of the pituitary gland and, thus, lead to the development of better therapeutic regimens for these neoplasms.

Conditions

  • Panhypopituitarism
  • Gigantism/Acromegaly
  • Prolactinoma
  • Cushing Disease

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Tissue specimen collection

Tissue specimen collection

PROCEDURE

MRI

MRI scan

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

    lead NIH

Principal Investigators

  • Deborah P Merke, M.D. · Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Eligibility

Min Age
2 Years
Max Age
70 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
1997-04-21

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00001595 on ClinicalTrials.gov