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Key Statistics About Pituitary Tumors
Learn about key statistics for pituitary tumors, including how common they are and who is most affected.
How common are pituitary tumors?
More than 15,000 pituitary tumors are diagnosed each year in the United States. Almost all of these tumors are benign (pituitary adenomas). Very few pituitary tumors are cancers (pituitary carcinomas).
The actual number of pituitary tumors might be much higher than the number found each year.
When examining people who have died or who have had imaging tests like MRI scans of their head for other health problems, doctors have found that as many as 1 in 4 people might have a pituitary adenoma without knowing it. These tumors are often small and never cause any symptoms or health problems, so very few of them are ever diagnosed.
Who is most affected by pituitary tumors?
Pituitary tumors can occur in people of any age, including children, but they are most often found in older adults.
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The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Dorsey JF, Salinas RD, Dang M, et al. Chapter 63: Cancer of the central nervous system. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa. Elsevier: 2020.
Price M, Ballard C, Benedetti J, et al. CBTRUS Statistical Report: Primary Brain and Other Central Nervous System Tumors Diagnosed in the United States in 2018-2022. Neuro-Oncol. 2025;27(Supplement 4):iv1-iv66.
Last Revised: May 8, 2026
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