Villa et al. review recent changes regarding pituitary gland tumours from both the 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Central Nervous System Tumours (5th edition, CNS5) and the 2022 WHO Classification of Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tumours (5th edition, ENDO5) in an informative way that is easy to digest.

Although concise, this review skilfully highlights the most relevant updates for those in the field, in an attempt to make the changes accessible to all who use them, avoiding the challenges seen in co-ordinating different books and text.

What is clear is the need to highlight the advancing role of molecular profiling and how this can enter into the classification of tumours. The authors are mindful to reiterate that combined histological and molecular classification is yet to be fully established, but that relying solely on cell linage has the potential to be too simplistic and can avoid reflecting the complexity of these tumours.

That the authors round off the piece by making their stance clear in terms of the need for standardisation should come as no surprise to those in the field. Ultimately, pathological, radiological, surgical and clinical reports must be brought together in concert before robust characteristic criteria can be fully created. This mini-review does, however, make some good progress in clearing the literature to allow for this standardisation to occur, and to establish reproducible pathways for risk stratification. The ultimate aim, of course, is to create better treatment for patients in terms of diagnosis and treatment.

Read the full article in Endocrine-Related Cancer 30 e230021