title: "Leiomyomatoid angiomatous neuroendocrine tumor" (LANT) of the pituitary reflects idiosyncratic angiogenesis in adenomas of the gonadotroph cell lineage.
abstract: Based on a single-case observation, the descriptive label "leiomyomatoid angiomatous neuroendocrine tumor" (LANT) has been tentatively applied to what was perceived as a possible novel type of dual-lineage pituitary neoplasm with biphasic architecture. We report on two additional examples of an analogous phenomenon encountered in male patients, aged 59 years (Case 1) and 91 years (Case 2). Both tumors were intra- and suprasellar masses, measuring 5.6 cm × 4.4 cm × 3.4 cm, and 2.7 cm × 2 cm × 1.7 cm, respectively. Histologically, Case 1 was an FSH-cell adenoma interwoven by vascularized connective tissue septa that tended to exhibit incremental stages of adventitial overgrowth. The epithelial component of Case 2 corresponded to an LH-cell adenoma, and lay partitioned by a maze of paucicellular to hyalinized vascular axes. Irrespective of architectural variations, perivascular spindle cells exhibited immunopositivity for vimentin, muscular actin, and smooth muscle actin. Conversely, negative results were obtained for CD34, EMA, S100 protein, GFAP, and TTF-1. Ultrastructural study failed to reveal metaplastic cell forms involving transitional features between adenohypophyseal-epithelial and mesenchymal-contractile phenotype. We propose that LANT be regarded as a peculiar reflection of maladaptive angiogenesis in some pituitary adenomas, rather than a genuine hybrid neoplasm. While no mechanistic clue is forthcoming to account for this distinctive pattern, hemodynamic strain through direct arterial - rather than portal - supply of the adenoma's capillary bed may be one such explanatory factor. The apparent predilection of the LANT pattern for macroadenomas of the gonadotroph cell lineage remains unexplained.
authors: Department of Clinical Pathology, Institute of Pathology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Schürch
authors: Michèle
authors: M
authors: Birrer
authors: Isabelle
authors: I
authors: Estella
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Kappeler
authors: Ekkehard
authors: E
authors: Hewer
authors: Istvan
authors: I
authors: Vajtai
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019070:Cell Lineage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology*; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*