Endocrine Abstracts

Worldwide, ˜300,000 new cases of differentiated thyroid cancer are reported per annum and thyroid cancer now represents the most rapidly increasing cancer in the US and in the UK. In general terms, outcome is good (10-year survival >90%). However, up to 25% of patients develop local or regional recurrences, and have a significantly reduced life expectancy. We hypothesise those thyroid tumours which subsequently recur display a distinct pattern of driver ...

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumours, which arise from neural crest (NC)-derived structures: the adrenal medulla and the paraganglia. Around one third of PPGLs are associated with inherited cancer susceptibility genes, the highest rate among all tumour types. Currently, the only diagnostic criterion for malignant disease is the presence of metastasis and no molecular or histological features have been identified that help predict risk. A...

Background: Endocrine systems are known to be disrupted in acute illness, and we previously demonstrated that plasma steroid concentrations correlated with severity in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Given their similarity to some clinical hormone deficiencies, we hypothesised that ‘long-COVID’ symptoms may be related to ongoing endocrine dysfunction.Methods: Plasma steroids, precursors and metabolites were quantified by LCMS/MS in multi-c...

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumours, which arise from neural crest (NC)-derived structures: the adrenal medulla and the paraganglia. Around one third of PPGLs are associated with inherited cancer susceptibility genes, the highest rate among all tumour types. Currently, the only diagnostic criterion for malignant disease is the presence of metastasis and no molecular or histological features have been identified that help predict risk. A...

Background: Transformation of the South Wales NET service in late 2017 introduced new specialised staff, gastroenterology-led clinics and MDTs with a particular emphasis on educating referring specialties on NETs. Data has shown patient experience, satisfaction rates, quality of life and gastrointestinal symptom scores have all improved. This study aims to describe findings from new NET service data for: referrals into the service, diagnosis times after symptoms, and initial s...

Background: High risk patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) undergoing radioiodine (I-131) treatment can be prepared by thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) or with parenteral recombinant TSH (rhTSH). We compared two centres predominantly using THW or rhTSH to study the impact on radioiodine retention and length of hospital stay (LoHS).Methods: We retrospectively compared radioactivity at discharge following high dose I-131 therapy (3–5 GBq ...

Successful responses to radioiodine treatment in differentiated thyroid cancer ultimately depend on uptake via the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS). However, many tumors exhibit NIS dysregulation, resulting in a poorer prognosis. Since breast cancer can also overexpress NIS, albeit of limited function, radioiodine treatment may be a promising treatment option. Our previous data show that overexpression of the pituitary tumor-transforming gene-binding factor (PBF) is partially res...

A 33 year old primip presented to the local ophthalmic hospital at 34+4 weeks’ gestation with two weeks of blurred vision. Examination revealed a bitemporal hemianopia and reduced visual acuity. She was previously fit and well, and a pre-eclampsia screen was negative. An MRI scan demonstrated a haemorrhagic pituitary lesion extending into the suprasellar cistern with mild compression of the optic chiasm. Pituitary function tests showed a raised prolactin 3844 mU/l, isolat...

PARADIGHM™ is a global registry (NCT01922440) of patients diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism (HPT) ≥6 months regardless of aetiology and management. Routine medical care data were entered using electronic case report forms; the 36-item Short Form Health Survey was completed by patients. Baseline-recorded data are reported for 492 patients enrolled as of 1 December 2016 from 41 centres. At baseline, 78% were women, mean (S.D.) age was 49 (17)...

In thyroid cancer, a reduction in sodium iodide symporter (NIS) expression at the basolateral plasma membrane (PM) of thyrocytes decreases the efficacy of radioiodine imaging, ablative therapy and treatment of metastases. NIS overexpression in breast cancer has resulted in radioiodine being widely proposed as a novel therapeutic strategy. However, uptake is insufficient for tumour destruction. Augmenting NIS PM localisation represents an important therapeutic strategy for incr...