Endocrine Abstracts

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a main serine/threonine protein kinase in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/p70S6K signalling pathway, is an important intracellular mediator involved in multiple cellular functions including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and also longevity.Recent studies indicate that mTOR is central in the integration of a multitude of signalling pathways activated by growth factors ...

Introduction: Although appendicitis occurs in approximately 1:1000 pregnancies, appendiceal neuroendocrine neoplasm (ANEN) diagnosis during pregnancy is very rare. Data on presentation, treatment and prognosis is scarce.Aim: To describe ANEN cases diagnosed during pregnancy.Materials and Methods: A retrospective appraisal of 7 consecutive ANEN patients diagnosed during pregnancy from four Israeli tertiary medical centers and compar...

Current treatments, including surgery, medical therapy, radiotherapy, and radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas (PNETs) and bronchus (BNETs) are often unsatisfactory, leading to a 5-year survival of <50% and 5%, respectively. PNETs and BNETs frequently have mutations in chromatin-remodelling genes and the protein encoded by the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene, menin. Menin binds the...

Current treatments, including surgery, medical therapy, radiotherapy, and radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas (PNETs) and bronchus (BNETs) are often unsatisfactory, leading to a 5-year survival of <50% and 5%, respectively. PNETs and BNETs frequently have mutations in chromatin-remodelling genes and the protein encoded by the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene, menin. Menin binds the...

Introduction: The histologic classification of lung carcinoids (LCs) as typical (TCs) and atypical (ACs) highlights its role as major prognostic factor for these patients. However, in the absence of sensitive biomarkers to effectively predict tumor behavior, long-term imaging surveillance is recommended for disease monitoring. Limited data suggest that progastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) may have diagnostic & monitoring utility in LCs.Aim(s): To ev...

Introduction: Treatment options for patients with metastatic lung carcinoids (LC) are limited. Everolimus (RAD001), an mTOR inhibitor (mTORi) which suppresses tumor cells growth & proliferation, appears to be efficient in these patients; however, it promotes autophagy, thereby paradoxically supporting tumor cell survival and development of drug-resistance. We have previously demonstrated in a BON1 pancreatic NEN model that adding chloroquine (CQ, an autophagy inhibitor) to...

Background: Data regarding the effect of gender and age on medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) presentation and prognosis is limited. Although older age and male sex were found to correlate with poorer prognosis in some studies, this correlation may reflect differences in MTC presentation between sex and age groups, or a mixture of hereditary and sporadic MTC forms.Objective: To evaluate the impact of age and sex on the presentation and outcomes of MTC.<p...

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), occurring at multiple sites including the pancreas, lung and pituitary, are increasing in incidence and usually present at an advanced metastatic stage, and current medical treatments have limited efficacy. Epigenetic modifiers are promising new drugs, as mutations in the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene, encoding the histone methyltransferase MLL1 interacting protein, menin, are known to cause both familial and sporadic N...

Introduction: Patients with unresectable NENs are offered a variety of non-curable therapeutic options, which eventually fail due to drug resistance. Increasing evidence suggest an anticancer trait of cannabinoids, via cellular pathways including mTOR, known to be associated with drug resistance development. Still, limited data exist on the anti-cancer effects of cannabinoids in NENs.Aims: To understand the possible anti-tumor role of the cannabinoids an...

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by the occurrence of parathyroid, pancreatic and pituitary tumours, and is due to mutations of the MEN1 gene, which encodes menin. We have investigated identical twins with MEN1, one of whom developed primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) and a prolactinoma that caused pubertal arrest, and the other had PHPT only. DNA sequence analysis of the MEN1 coding region had not ide...