Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Cytokines have been suggested to be involved in modulating anti-tumor responses and promoting tumor growth. Some studies have indicated that cytokines could also be involved in the pathogenesis of pituitary tumors. Th17 cells, characterized by expression of several cytokines as interleukin 22 (IL 22), might have a role in tumor immune-surveillance. IL-22 is a cytokine involved in the modulation of tissue responses during inflammation and, through activation of St...

Introduction: Pituitary adenomas are benign neoplasms which grow slowly, but that can recur even after apparent radical resection. Until now, markers predicting regrowth and invasiveness have not been completely characterized.Design: We investigated cell proliferation and apoptosis parameters in 20 radically resected pituitary macroadenomas (six GH, two PRL, two ACTH, one FSH and nine non-secreting), in order to predict recurrence risk. Tumour regrowth w...

Introduction: Acromegalic patients have an increased risk of developing colorectal neoplasms (CN). A common polymorphism (C677T) in gene coding for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), a key enzyme in folate metabolism and in DNA synthesis, reparation and methylation, has been associated with CN risk in general population, but its role in acromegalic patients has never been explored yet.Aim: To investigate the contribution of MTHFR C677T polymorp...