Prolactinomas in women treated in the past for infertility

This is a retrospective study on 352 infertile women who were treated with HMG-hCG (Human Menopausal Gonadotropin/human Chorionic Gonadotropin) between 1962 and 1977. The purpose of this study was to search for hyperprolactinemia and prolactinomas in these women. Hyperprolactinemia was found in 75 women (21%). The prevalence of hyperprolactinemia increases with age. Asymptomatic pituitary tumors were found in 29 of 31 women evaluated (94%). Three women had macroadenomas and 26 had microadenomas. The authors were not able to demonstrate that the HMG-hCG treatment and the ensuing pregnancy had any long-term ill effects on the size of the tumor. These findings suggest that prolactinomas were slow growing. An active search for these tumors must be made in women treated for infertility in the past.