Endocrine Abstracts

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare neuroendocrine tumour with a slow onset of symptoms, and classically a propensity for recurrence and a poor prognosis. Due to its rarity, there is no agreed standard therapy, but treatment will usually include surgical resection, adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. However, such tumours very often show positive uptake on somatostatin receptor radionuclide scanning, and selective use of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) ...

Selective transsphenoidal adenomectomy remains the accepted first line treatment for Cushing’s disease (CD), until recently by microscopic (sublabial) transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. Endonasal transsphenoidal endoscopic surgery is emerging as a novel, less invasive treatment for pituitary adenomas with lower postoperative complications and morbidity. The safety of endoscopic surgery has been extensively reviewed in adult patients and is now considered best practice for...

Background: Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB), a neuroendocrine nasal tumour, exhibits a range of phenotypes from indolent to very aggressive. Even early disease is associated with high (60%) recurrence rates, while advanced disease has 1.5y disease-free and 2.5y overall mean survival. Medical treatments against primary and recurrent disease as well as prognostic biomarkers are urgently required. The few studies available suggest that mTOR/MAPK and Sonic Hedgehog signalling has a ...

Introduction: Since there is no completely effective therapy available for malignant phaeochromocytomas (PCCs) and paragangliomas, we have been investigating novel targeted therapies utilising one more benign (MPC) and one more malignant (MTT) PCC cell line. We have previously shown that the IGF1-receptor-inhibitor NVP-AEW541 led to compensatory ERK and mTORC1 up-regulation at suboptimal doses and that the dual PI3K/mTORC1-inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 also resulted in compensatory ERK...

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare neuroendocrine tumour arising within the sino-nasal cavity. It occurs world wide, affecting both sexes, all ages and all races with no underlying predilection having yet been identified. ONB exhibits a range of phenotypes from indolent to very aggressive, and up to 5% cases are associated with ectopic hormone secretion. Despite current gold-standard treatment of surgical resection (either endoscopic or craniofacial resection) followed by...

Introduction: We present the outcome for the first 21 patients undergoing neuronavigation–guided, endoscopic transphenoidal surgery for pituitary dependent Cushing’s disease in our centre since August 2001. All operations were consecutive, and undertaken by the same neurosurgeon and endoscopic nasal surgeon.Methods: Records are available for 20 cases. Pre and post operative management of cases was led by the endocrine team with standard assessm...

Introduction: We present the outcome for the first 80 patients undergoing neuronavigation–guided, endoscopic transphenoidal surgery in our centre since August 2001. All operations were undertaken by the same neurosurgeon and endoscopic nasal surgeon.Indications for treatment: Indications for treatment may be divided into: Functioning microadenomas, with the aim of surgical cure while protecting residual pituitary function. Functioning macroadenomas,...

The number of people diagnosed and living with cancer in the UK continues to rise and this also places increasing demands on specialist cancer care services (NHS England 2015). Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) incidence and prevalence increases alongside this demand (PHE 2016). NETs still remain a rare cancer with specialist needs and the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) team are ideally placed to support these patients. Oncology clinics are becoming increasingly pressured and the...

Chorionic Gonadotrophin (CG) is secreted by both horse and human placenta and is critical to maintenance of early pregnancy. Production of CG is dependent on the differentiation of specialised CG-secreting cells, binucleate (horse) and syncytiotrophoblast (human). We recently showed the transcription factor Glial Cells Missing 1 (GCM1) is rapidly induced in vivo during differentiation of equine binucleate trophoblast. Studies in human syncytiotrophoblast have shown cAMP...

A 24-year-old woman presented with stridor resulting from a large, firm, anterior neck mass. At age six she had been treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with vincristine, prednisolone, daunorubicin, asparaginase, prophylactic cranial radiotherapy and intrathecal methotrexate. She also had primary hypothyroidism with strongly positive thyroid peroxidase antibodies.The mass had been gradually enlarging for 6 months, causing exertional breathles...