Commentary: Classification and grading of pituitary tumors. Observations of two working neuropathologists

Excerpt

As part of the World Health Organization (WHO) “blue book” series, the recently updated endocrine volume includes a 38-page chapter on pituitary tumors [3], divided into concise multi-authored sections. New developments, remaining shortcomings, and future directions of research have been summarized by Al-Shraim and Asa in the current issue [1]. Overall, this newest “blue book” is superbly written, provides a wealth of useful information, and is sold at a readily affordable price, making it a bargain to anyone even remotely interested in pituitary pathology. As with other issues of the WHO series, current molecular data are well integrated with classic pathology and the entities are beautifully illustrated. The pituitary falls under the purview of both endocrine and neuropathology. However, given its intracranial location, the gland is biopsied by neurosurgeons. Therefore, despite crossing subspecialty boundaries, neuropathologists must be well acquainted with this area of endocrine pathology. In the current summary, we attempt to represent the working neuropathologist’s perspective. …