Endocrine Abstracts

The history of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been marked out by successive ‘earthquakes’, the perception of which has been reflected by the evolution of prescription curves. Early hormonal treatment protocols included estrogens only and have lead to an increased relative risk of endometrial cancer. This risk returns to baseline if a progestin is associated to estrogens for at least 12 days/28.Then based on interventional studies as well as in vitro dat...

Objective: Ulipristal acetate or UPA (PGL4001, formerly CDB-2914) is an oral SPRM with the potential to be the first in a new treatment class for uterine fibroids. As treatment with first-generation SPRMs led to modification of adrenal and thyroid function and changes in prolactin secretion and because UPA binds to the glucocorticoid receptor, we report here a detailed investigation of the endocrine effects of UPA.Methods: Endocrine function was assessed...

Radioiodine therapy (RAI): which is the cornerstone of the treatment of distant metastasis from differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC), is based on the expression of the iodine transporter NIS. The majority of DTC are papillary with BRAFV600E mutation in 45% to 60% of cases. This mutation is associated with RAI refractory DTC with a low NIS expression and a low differentiation score. The absence of RAI uptake is a major challenge for the treatment of patients. A promi...

Background: Clinical predictors of survival of radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RR-DTC) are poorly described. Age has been identified as a major prognostic factor in differentiated thyroid cancer. We asked whether age was a valuable predictor of poor prognosis in RR-DTC.Patients and method: This single centre, retrospective study enrolled all patients diagnosed with a RR-DTC between 1991 and 2017. The primary end point was overall su...

Introduction: SDH genes mutations are associated with hereditary phaeochromocytoma and paraganglioma syndromes. We describe the case of a patient with SDHC related familial paraganglioma and pituitary adenoma.Case: A 65-year old man consulted for an incidentally discovered 7 cm abdominal mass on CT-scan, lateral to the right kidney, invading inferior vena cava, associated to a retroperitoneal adenomegaly and a lesion on the body of L2 vertebra with spina...

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway abnormalities, specifically rearrangements (RET/PTC) or activating mutations (RAS or BRAF), are highly prevalent in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). Constitutive activation of this signaling cascade causes sustained phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). DUSP5, which is positively regulated by ERK signaling, acts as a negative regulator of its activity. We have previously shown that DUSP5 is overexpre...

Context: The post-surgical follow-up of malignant insulinomas is often marked by recurrence after initial remission. However, the criteria for the diagnosis of recurrence of these malignant endocrine tumors are not well defined in the literature, unlike diagnostic of criteria for hyperinsulinemic hypoglycaemia (Cryer 2009). We retrospectively reviewed the criteria that allowed the diagnosis of recurrence in four patients with malignant insulinoma after initial post-operative r...

Controlateral recurrence of pheochromocytoma is frequent in MEN2 patients. Cortical sparing adrenalectomy is currently recommended in this situation, but conveys a risk of adrenal insufficiency in up to 45 % of patients. The natural history of recurrent pheochromocytome is poorly known. Thus, appropriate timing of surgery and the possibility to postpone safely surgery remain debatable. We report our experience of long-term follow up of non-operated 16 pheochromocytomas in 13 M...

Pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PPGL) are catecholamine-producing neuroendocrine tumors that account for less than 1% of all hypertension cases. Despite their rarity, these tumors must be early detected and treated to prevent potentially life-threatening adrenergic crises. Unfortunately, PPGL are frequently unrecognized during pregnancy, leading to a high risk of either maternal or fetal complications. In return, pregnancy can trigger catecholamine secretory discharges in pa...

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare histiocytic neoplasm with distinctive clinical and immunophenotypic features, involving somatic mutations of BRAF and activation of MAPK pathway. Other BRAF mutated neoplasms such as papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), may also occur synchronous with EDC. There are several reports in the literature of concurrent Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) and PTC which suggests that the association is not random, howeve...