Can MRI and CT scans diagnose Cushing’s disease?

Imaging tests like MRI and CT scans can be helpful for visualizing tumors in the pituitary gland, but not all such growths are disease-causing. Cushing’s disease is caused by a tumor in the pituitary that secretes high levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), so visualizing the tumor can help to confirm the diagnosis and guide decisions about surgery or other treatments. However, many people have benign growths in the pituitary gland that don’t cause overt health problems, so imaging alone is not sufficient to diagnose Cushing’s disease — additional tests to detect hormone changes are needed.