Endocrine Abstracts

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is distinguished by its neuroendocrine phenotype and secretion of hormone biomarkers. Tumours initially respond well to therapy but almost invariably relapse with a therapy-resistant phenotype. We have previously described pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) as a potential biomarker of SCLC. In this study, we investigated how POMC acts as a biomarker of tumour response to treatment.SCLC cells (DMS 79) were injected subcutaneously in...

Cushing’s syndrome due to ectopic ACTH production is extremely rare in childhood. Ectopic ACTH secretion is most often due to tumours in the chest, but rare cases of carcinoid tumours, neuroblastoma, phaeochromocytoma and pancreatic and ovarian carcinoma have been reported. We describe a 2 year old girl with ectopic Cushing’s syndrome due to a malignant epithelial abdominal tumour producing POMC. She presented with rapid weight gain, hypertension, body odour, letharg...

Introduction: Hydrocortisone therapy in adrenal insufficiency and medical management of Cushing’s syndrome requires accurate monitoring of glucocorticoid status. Currently, this necessitates admitting patients to hospital for serial measurements of serum cortisol. From previous studies in Cushing’s, the goal of medical therapy is a mean (based on five samples) serum cortisol of 150–300 nmol/l, which is known to equate to a normal cortisol production rate. Saliva...

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is highly aggressive with a particularly poor prognosis. This is due to tumours quickly metastasising and developing chemoresistance. SCLC tumours possess neuroendocrine properties in that they secrete prohormones such as pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and pro-gastrin releasing peptide (pro-GRP). These can be detected in the circulation and therefore have potential as biomarkers for prognosis and relapse. The aims of this study are; i) develop a mode...