Treatment by transsphenoidal surgery of Cushing's disease in childhood

Cushing's disease in children is rare and not familar to pediatricians. We report here 7 cases concerning children between 8 and 16 years of age, treated by pituitary surgery with 1 to 9 year follow-up. A remission of hypercorticism was obtained in all cases. However, a pituitary deficiency requiring replacement opotherapy and/or a recurrence was observed in 5 out of 7 patients. From our experience and the review of literature (around 130 cases), Cushing's disease is more serious in children than in adult. We suggest therapeutic management with transsphenoidal surgery as the treatment of choice. Given the frequency of recurrence (13 a 54 %) often late (9-12 years), we stress the need of regular and extended postoperative follow-up.