Cushing Disease Secondary to Rathke’s Cleft Cyst

    October 2025 in “ Journal of the Endocrine Society ”
    S Shrestha, Katrina Ann H Corpuz, Jeyavishnupriya Gopalakrishnan, Heng Yeh, Ismat Shafiq, Joseph Hughes
    TLDR Rathke’s cleft cysts can rarely cause Cushing disease, and surgery can improve symptoms.
    This article presents a rare case of Cushing disease secondary to a Rathke’s cleft cyst (RCC) in a 35-year-old female. The patient initially presented with a pituitary lesion discovered during an MRI for headaches and diplopia. Despite normal initial hormonal tests, she later developed symptoms such as weight gain, hair loss, and elevated ACTH levels. Further tests confirmed Cushing disease, and the patient underwent successful transsphenoidal resection of the RCC, which improved her symptoms. This case highlights the importance of considering hormonal hypersecretion evaluation in atypical pituitary lesions, as RCCs can rarely cause Cushing disease without an associated pituitary adenoma.
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