Endocrine Abstracts

Somatostatin (SRIF) analogs have been employed in medical therapy of non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFA), with contrasting results. Previous evidence showed that SRIF can exert its antiproliferative effects by reducing Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) secretion and action, and that VEGF expression may be related to pituitary tumor growth. The aim of our study was to clarify the possible effects of a multireceptor SRIF ligand on VEGF secretion and cell proliferati...

The characteristics of adrenal involvement in Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) have been defined from studies involving a limited number of patients. We have assessed retrospectively the prevalence, characteristics and evolution of adrenal involvement from the French group for the study of endocrine tumours (GTE) registry, involving 688 patients with MEN1. In our series, adrenal tumours identified at abdominal imaging occurred in 130 patients (18.9%). The mean age of...

Members of the TGFb family of ligands - including bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) - have been demonstrated to profoundly impact tumorigenesis in a variety of tumor entities. As for the adrenal cortex, BMP6 has been implicated as an important modulator of aldosterone secretion. To screen for alterations of TGFß dependent pathways in adrenal tumorigenesis we performed gene profiling experiments. By comparing human adrenal carcinoma (ACC) against normal adrenal tissue sampl...

Familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), multiple endocrine neoplasia types 2A and 2B (MEN2A, 2B) and Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) are inherited neurocristopathies linked to germline mutations in the RET proto-oncogene. Activating germline RET mutations are presented in patients with FMTC, MEN2A and MEN2B, on the other hand, inactivating germline mutations in patients with HSCR. Nevertheless, there is an overlay in specific mutations in the exon 10 of the RET proto-oncogene....

Adrenal masses are highly prevalent tumours comprising of a variety of entities. Therefore, therapeutic consequences also vary considerably. The CYP11B-specific PET-tracer [11C]metomidate has been shown to be suitable to characterize adrenal lesions. However, its availability is restricted to PET-centers with an on-site cyclotron. Also imaging is hindered by the short tracer half-life (20 min). Therefore, we have developed [123I]iodometomidate as a tracer...

Epidemiological data clearly evidence a protective role of estrogens against the development of colon cancer and ERβ has been identified as the predominant ER subtype in human colon. More recently it has been identified as a favourable prognostic marker in this disease, possibly explaining the protective effect of estrogens against colon cancer development. To understand the specific role and mechanism of action of ERβ in colon tumorigenesis we developed an in vit...

Elevated insulin levels are correlated with colonic adenomas and carcinomas in the general population. Patients with acromegaly are considered at high risk to develop colonic lesions and have a high insulin levels. To evaluate the role of insulin levels on colonic polyps (hyperplastic, adenomatous, single or synchronous) or adenocarcinoma in acromegaly we designed this analytical, observational, open, prospective, study enrolling 189 patients (100 women, 89 men, age 20–82...