POMC and pituitary gland adenoma: We used quantitative RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) to examine the expressions of these five genes in an additional panel of 109 ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas obtained from three validation groups: Group 1 consisted of 29 female paired samples of ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas and their respective ANPT controls; Group 2 consisted of 63 female ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma including 50 ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma tissues and 13 ANPT controls; Group 3 consisted of 13 male ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma tissues and four male ANPT controls.