Endocrine Abstracts

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) play an important role in the pathogenesis of several neoplasias and the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) may have a role as autocrine/paracrine factors in regulating the local actions of the IGFs. In the present study we investigated IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3 production in cultured media from three human lung cancer cell lines (Calu-3, Calu-6, A549) and in human neoplastic and normal lung tissue samples obtained at surgery fr...

Background: Acromegaly is a severe systemic condition characterized by elevated circulating levels of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and increased mortality and morbidity. The role of GH and IGF-I in mammary hyperplasia is well established and GH/IGF-I elevation has been hypothesized to favor neoplastic development. We recently demonstrated that premenopausal females with active acromegaly may display an increased mammographic breast density (MBD)...

Introduction: Patients with acromegaly have an increased fracture risk, particularly vertebral fractures. Growth hormone (GH) excess, and the related increase of IGF-1 levels, have been shown to impair bone microarchitecture more than bone density. Therefore, the assessment of trabecular bone score (TBS) has been recommended beside standard dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is less expensive and more accessible compared to DXA,...

Cushing’s Disease (CD) is severe clinical condition due to an ACTH-secreting pituitary tumor. Here we present the case of a 25-years old male who came to our attention for hypertension, moon face, acanthosis nigricans, abdominal purple striae and central obesity. The diagnosis of CD was based on the presence of high plasma cortisol after dexamethasone suppression test and elevated urinary free cortisol levels (UFC, 6-fold higher the upper limit of normality (ULN)). The pi...

Background: The response to first-generation long-acting somatostatin analogues (LA-SSA) treatment in acromegaly depends on the expression of the somatostatin receptor (SSTR) subtypes. In contrast to octreotide and lanreotide which preferentially bind to SSTR2, pasireotide targets multiple SSTRs, with the highest binding affinity for SSTR5. It has previously been suggested that SSTR5 expression could predict the response to pasireotide LAR (PAS-LAR) treatment in acromegaly.</p...

The impact of GH/IGF-1 levels on skeletal muscle in patients with acromegaly is still matter of debate. Recently, temporal (TMT) and masseter muscle thickness (MMT) have emerged as reliable indicators of muscle mass, as well as patients’ functional status/prognosis in various clinical context – especially in the oncologic setting. This study aims to investigate the potential correlations between TMT/MMT and patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics. A r...

Somatostatin (SRIF) is an inhibitory hormone that plays a regulatory role in several cell functions including cell proliferation. SRIF acts through five specific membrane receptors (sst1-5), expressed on SRIF-target cells. SRIF and ssts may play a significant role in the progression and neuroendocrine differentiation of human prostate cancer (PCa). However, conflicting results have been reported in the literature on ssts heterogeneity and specific cell localization in PCa. Aim...

Introduction: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SST2) is a predictive factor for first-generation somatostatin receptor ligand (fg-SRL) response in acromegaly patients. A semi-quantitative immunoreactivity score, IRS, has been proposed as the gold-standard to evaluate SST2 IHC expression. Recently, our group developed a quantitative method to determine SST2 expression using an open-source digital image analysis (DIA...

During the spring of 2020, a national lockdown was adopted in Italy to prevent COVID-19 pandemic spread. Restrictive measures have been associated with impaired psychological outcome in the general population. As patients with Cushing’s Syndrome (CS), including Cushing’s disease (CD), adrenal CS (ACS), and ectopic CS (ECS), are reportedly associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety, stress susceptibility, depression, and maniac episodes, during both active disease...

Background: Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder characterised by excess growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) that is associated with significant morbidity and impaired quality of life (QoL). Standard-of-care (SoC) treatments for acromegaly typically require healthcare provider administration, pose a substantial treatment burden, and leave scope for improved disease control. CAM2029, an octreotide subcutaneous depot with ~5x higher bioavailability th...