Table 5. Effects of stalk preservation on hormonal outcomes, recurrences, and usage of adjuvant radiotherapy.
| Stalk status N = 49 patients |
Stalk sacrifice ( N = 25) | Stalk preservation ( N = 24) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tumor diameter, cm (median, quartile) | 3.0 (2.3–3.3) | 2.8 (2.0–3.0) | 0.415 | |
| Anterior pituitary function a | Normal endocrine function | 0 (0%) | 9 (40.9%) | 0.001 |
| Normal to partial hypopituitarism | 7 (28.0%) | 5 (22.7%) | ||
| Stable hypopituitarism | 3 (12.0%) | 0 (0%) | ||
| Partial to hypopituitarism | 1 (4.0%) | 1 (4.5%) | ||
| Normal to panhypopituitarism | 14 (56.0%) | 4 (18.2%) | ||
| Stable partial hypopituitarism | 0 (0%) | 3 (13.6%) | ||
| DI b | New permanent | 18 (78.3%) | 11 (45.8%) | 0.036 |
| No permanent DI | 5 (21.7%) | 13 (54.2%) | ||
| Resection | STR | 3 (12.0) | 7 (29.2%) | 0.001 |
| NTR | 3 (12.0%) | 12 (50.0%) | ||
| GTR | 19 (76.0%) | 5 (20.8%) | ||
| Recurrence/progression | 4 (16.0%) | 6 (25.0%) | 0.496 | |
| Adjuvant radiotherapy | 2 (8.0%) | 11 (45.8%) | 0.004 | |
| Median follow-up duration, month (range) | 38 (22–75.5) | 31.5 (12.3–96) | 0.005 |
Abbreviations: DI, diabetes insipidus; GTR, gross total resection; NTR, near total resection; STR, subtotal resection.
a
Three patients in stalk preservation group do not have hormonal outcomes.
b
Two patients in the stalk sacrifice group do not have follow-up data.
Bold values indicate significant level less than 0.05.