Some aspects of pituitary function after neuroadenolysis in patients with metastatic cancer.

The effects of neuroadenolysis on plasma titres of beta-endorphin, beta-lipotropin, ACTH, TSH and prolactin have been investigated in five patients with metastatic cancer who responded to the treatment and have been in remission for more than four years and in five others who were undergoing the treatment for the first time for pain due to cancer metastases. beta-Endorphin, beta-lipotropin and ACTH titres were within the normal ranges of values in both categories of patients but post-neuroadenolysis titres of these peptides were higher than those before the treatment. The ability to secrete TSH and prolactin and to respond to thyroid stimulating hormone releasing hormone (TRH) remains intact following the treatment.

Neuroadenolysis of the pituitary.

The authors describe the neuroadenolysis of the pituitary (NALP), an original antalgic technique consisting in the injection of small amounts of alcohol into the sella turcica. Used for diffuse pain from advanced cancer, NALP determines, in addition to the antalgic effect, a temporary regression in the evolution of the neoplastic disease in approximately 30% of the cases of hormonedependent tumors. The consequences and complications are generally not very serious, allowing the use of this technique in poor-risk patients.