Endocrine Abstracts

Background and objective: Atypical pituitary adenomas (APA), in 2004, were defined according to WHO classification, as those with Ki-67>3%, excessive p53 expression and increased mitotic activity and invasive behaviour. The real usefulness of this classification is still controversial, so we reviewed compared clinical and prognostic features in our typical and atypical pituitary adenomas.Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed 343 consecuti...

Introduction: The main goal in the treatment of acromegaly is achieving biochemical and tumor mass control. Therapeutic options include surgery, medical treatment and, in selected cases, radiotherapy. A GH receptor (GHR) variant that differs for the genomic retention or exclusion (d3GHR) of exon 3 is present in about 50% of general population and its presence is related to a greater sensitivity to GH.Materials and methods: We describe a series of 118 pat...

Dopamine (DA) therapy of non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFA) can result in tumor stabilization and shrinkage. However, this effect is not always apparent and the mechanism of action is still unknown. Previous evidence showed that DA inhibits pituitary Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor expression (VEGF), that, in turn, is related to pituitary tumor growth. Our study aimed at clarifying whether VEGF secretion modulation might mediate the effects of DA agonists and chimeric...

Somatostatin (SRIF) analogs have been employed in medical therapy of non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFA), with contrasting results. Previous evidence showed that SRIF can exert its antiproliferative effects by reducing Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) secretion and action, and that VEGF expression may be related to pituitary tumor growth. The aim of our study was to clarify the possible effects of a multireceptor SRIF ligand on VEGF secretion and cell proliferati...