Endocrine Abstracts

Purpose: Clinically Non-Functioning Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumours (NF-PitNETs) present a varying degree of aggressiveness, and reliable prognostic markers are lacking. We aimed to characterize the distribution of E- and N-cadherin in corticotroph, PIT1 and null-cell NF-PitNETs, and link it to the clinical course of the tumours.Methods: We investigated the distribution of E- and N-cadherin by immunohistochemistry in a retrospective cohort of thirty tum...

Introduction: Patients planned for first time surgery for clinically non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) were included in this prospective study.Aims: – To study the prevalence of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis failure preoperatively and 3 months after surgery for clinically NFPA.– To investigate factors predicting risk of HPA axis failure postoperatively.Hypotheses<p class="abst...

Background: Real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) has become the method of choice for quantification of gene expression changes. Inappropriate data normalization and inconsistent data analyses are some limitations of RT-qPCR. Pituitary adenomas are frequent tumours and the interpretation of increasingly published data within this field is hindered by the lack of a proper selection and validation of stably expressed reference genes.Ai...

Introduction: The 2022 WHO classification identifies seven different pituitary tumour subtypes with growth hormone (GH) secretion and/or expression, with or without concurrent prolactin expression. The response to dopamine agonist (DA) treatment in these subtypes requires further investigation. The bromocriptine test has historically been a part of the acromegaly evaluation and may provide insights to DA treatment responsiveness. We aimed to explore the correlations between ba...

Background: Functioning (FCA) and silent corticotroph (SCA) pituitary adenomas act differently from a clinical perspective, despite both subtypes showing positive ACTH staining by immunohistochemistry. They are challenging to treat, the former due to functional ACTH production and consequently hypercortisolemia leading to Cushing disease, whereas the latter due to invasive and recurrent behaviour. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms behind their distinct behaviour are not clear...

Background: The exact mechanism behind the hypersecretion of ACTH and lack of negative cortisol feedback on POMC regulation in functional corticotroph adenomas (FCA) is unknown. Silent corticotroph adenomas (SCA) express, but do not secrete functional ACTH and have lower POMC expression. Using RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry, previous studies have identified some POMC-transcription factors, regulators and processing enzymes to be differentially expressed between FCA and SCA. ...

Background: Long standing growth hormone (GH) excess causes the skeletal clinical signs of acromegaly with typical changes in bone geometry including increased cortical bone thickness (CBT). However, a high prevalence and incidence of vertebral fractures has been reported. The aim of this study was to assess the course of cortical bone dimensions in the hip by comparing patients with acromegaly and clinically non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) at baseline and one year a...

Background: Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) necessitate prolonged clinical, biochemical and radiological observation, constituting a significant burden in terms of medical resources and societal costs. Reliable biomarkers associated with aggressiveness and recurrence of NFPAs are lacking. As the growth of tumor remnants is highly variable, molecular markers that can predict growth potential and tumor behavior are necessary.Aim: To identify tar...