Endocrine Abstracts

Pheochromocytomas (PHEOs) and paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors. About 30-40% of Pheo/PGLs are due to a germ-line mutation in one of the 13 main susceptibility genes which include the genes encoding the four subunits of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH - mitochondrial complex II). In PHEO/PGL due to SDHB mutations up to 80% of affected patients develop metastatic disease and no successful cure is at present available. To obtain an experimental model resembli...

The metabolic interplay occurring between the tumor microenvironment and cancer cells may represent a potential target for novel anti-cancer approaches. Among stromal components, adipocytes and adipose precursors have been shown to actively participate in tumor progression in several solid malignancies. In adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare endocrine neoplasia with a poor prognosis, cancer cells often infiltrate the fat mass surrounding the adrenal organ, enabling a possib...