NET-TIME: Inflammatory Tumor Microenvironment in Pituitary Neoplasm

Pituitary adenomas are currently recognized such as pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs), as originating from the neuroendocrine cells of the pituitary gland and represent about 10% of all intracranial tumors. Over the past twenty years, a progressively increasing number of markers biochemical, clinical, imaging, histopathological or genetic have been suggested to attempt to predict aggression and therapeutic outcome, both in secretory PitNETs and in non-secretory PitNETs, such as concentration blood tests of secreted hormones, the patient's gender, the age at onset of the disease, the size of the tumor, signs of local invasiveness, tumor indices of proliferation and mitotic indices. However, unique and reproducible markers of tumor aggressiveness and outcome have been identified therapeutic. In recent years, the microenvironment tumor (TEM) has been extensively studied in different malignancies, promoting the development of therapies target and immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors immune system (ICI). Data on TIME in PitNETs are scarce today and derive from studies conducted mainly on heterogeneous cases for type of PitNET. Plus most of the studies on TIME in PitNETs they were focused on study of the inflammatory cellular infiltrate and in particular on lymphocyte populations, showing a heterogeneous phenotype during the different phases of the natural history of neoplastic pathology. Therefore, the purpose of this research project is to investigate the TIME in PitNET, to identify immune biomarkers and new molecular pathways that can promote the use of ICI and target therapies in Aggressive PitNETs.

Inclusion criteria

• indication as per clinical practice and in agreement to current guidelines for surgical removal of the PitNET0;
• patient naïve to medical therapy before surgical removal of PitNET;
• Diagnosis of PitNET confirmed through the study pathological/histological;
• over 18 years of age;
• acceptance of participation in the study, by signing an informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• History of medical therapy with analogs of somatostatin or dopamine agonist, previous the removal of the pituitary adenoma;
• history of radiotherapy of the head and neck region earlier than 10 years after resection of the adenoma pituitary;
• history of autoimmune diseases.