Endocrine Abstracts

Recently, we provided the first integrated genomic classification of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs), on a series of 134 tumors. This series covered all histological, secretion, invasion and growth speed types. This molecular classification supports the importance of pituitary lineage as proposed by the World Health Organization 2017 classification, but also individualizes new entities. Indeed, corticotroph tumors are split into three distinct molecular groups. In ad...

Objective: Carney Complex (CNC) is a rare hereditary genetic syndrome, mostly due to inactivating pathogenic variants of the tumor suppressor gene PRKAR1A. It has a wide spectrum of manifestations with frequent pigmented skin lesions, cardiac myxomas, primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical dysplasia, acromegaly and thyroid cancers. Breast benign tumors (fibroadenomas, ductal adenomas and myxoid lesions) have been associated with CNC, but so far, association with mal...

Background: Cushing’s syndrome, caused by an excess of circulating glucocorticoids, is associated with high morbidity and presents high inter-individual variability. The earlier the diagnosis, the better the treatment effectiveness and the prognosis. Hormone assays, routinely used, contribute to identify Cushing’s syndrome. However, no biomarker is currently available to directly quantify the biological action of glucocorticoids. Blood samples represent an easily obt...

Pituitary adenomas, now called pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs), vary in histological type, secretion, invasion and growth speed. A World Health Organization (WHO) histo-prognostic classification was released in 2017. Pituitary tumorigenesis is largely unexplained. Rare germline mutations (MENIN, AIP), and common somatic mutations in somatotroph (GNAS) and corticotroph (USP8) are reported. Recently, genomic analyses have been report...

The 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of pituitary adenomas is based on cell lineage and transcription factors (TFs). Pituitary progenitors expressing Pit-1 are driven towards the somato-lacto-thyrotroph differentiation, T-Pit towards corticotroph, and SF-1 towards gonadotroph. We recently generated a multi-genomic classification of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) (abstract submitted to ECE2019 by Neou M.). Transcriptome classification identified si...

The prolonged exposure to an excess of circulating cortisol (Cushing’s syndrome) causes various complications. An accurate and early diagnosis is critical for effective surgical management and optimal prognosis. However, the current diagnostic approach based on hormonal assays can be complex and requires multiple tests. The identification of novel, specific and easily measurable biomarkers of hypercortisolism may help to improve the diagnosis and to evaluate the complicat...

Objective: Large response of steroids precursors, including 17-hydroxyprogesterone and 11-deoxycortisol, to ACTH has been described in adrenocortical tumors, suggesting the existence of intra-tumoral enzymatic deficiencies. This study aimed to compare steroidogenic enzymes activity in unilateral and bilateral benign tumors using serum steroid profiling in HPLC-MS/MS in basal state and after ACTH 1-24 stimulation.Design and Methods: A serum profile of sev...

Background: Molecular classification is important for diagnosis and prognosis of adrenocortical tumors (ACT). Transcriptome profiles separate benign ACT (“C2” cluster) from carcinomas (ACC) and identify two groups of ACC, “C1A” (“steroid” and “proliferation” signatures) and “C1B” (“immune” signature), of poor and better prognosis respectively. However, these signatures were characterized at the tissue level (“bul...

Background: Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) is an aggressive tumor with heterogeneous prognosis. Previous genomic studies have demonstrated the importance of molecular classification for the prognostic assessment. Among molecular markers, transcriptome profiles “C1A” (steroid and proliferative signature) and “C1B” (immune signature) show the strongest association with outcome. However these markers are determined so far only from frozen tissue samples, sinc...

The effective treatment and optimal prognosis of hypercortisolism (Cushing’s syndrome – CS) depend on accurate and early diagnosis. However, hormonal assays can be complex, requiring multiple tests, and not predictive for any related complications, neither for their duration and severity. Identifying novel, specific and easily measurable biomarkers may improve CS diagnosis as well as the evaluation of complications. Since stress-associated epigenetic markers can be...