Endocrine Abstracts

Craniopharyngiomas (CPs) are a relatively benign subtype of epithelial tumors that typically originate from the sellar and suprasellar regions of the brain. These endocrine tumors are classified as adamantinomatous (ACP) or papillary (PCP) based on their histological characteristics. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of CPs is frequently made at an advanced stage of tumor development, and therefore relevant associated comorbidities are often present. The first-line treatment is typ...

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths in men worldwide. Therefore, more specific non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers with potential therapeutic use are urgently needed. As miRNAs have been proposed as promising elements for the identification of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools for different pathologies, including different cancer types, we investigated herein the miRNA landscape in PCa patients and explored their putative diagnos...

The intrinsic heterogeneity of endocrine-related cancers (ERCs) hampers the identification and development of global and effective therapeutic treatments for these pathologies. However, the dysregulation of the splicing process has been postulated as a new common hallmark shared by most cancer types, since it is associated with the appearance of splicing variants with oncogenic potential (e.g. CD44v6, BCL-Xs, AR-v7, SST5TMD4, In1-ghrelin...

Pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) constitute approximately 15% of all intracranial tumors and comprise a varied type of neoplasms that, despite being rarely metastatic, can cause severe comorbidities and increased mortality related to the mass effects and hormonal hypersecretion. The high expression levels of somatostatin and dopamine receptors in these tumors has led to the use of somatostatin analogues (SSAs) and dopamine agonists (DAs) as pharmacological treatments....

Background: Pituitary adenomas represent a commonly underestimated pathology in terms of incidence and associated morbimortality. Additionally, some patients poorly respond or develop resistance to current medical treatments [i.e. somatostatin analogues (SSAs) and dopamine agonists]. In this context, it is necessary to develop novel and/or optimize currently available medical therapies. Biguanides (metformin, buformin and phenformin) are antidiabetic drugs that have been descr...

Chimeric somatostatin (SST)/dopamine (DA) compounds, termed dopastatins, such as BIM-23A760, an agonist for SST (sst2 and ss5) and DA (D2) receptors, are emerging as promising new approaches to treat pituitary adenomas. However, their actions and mechanisms on the different types of pituitary tumours are still incompletely understood. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyse a set of key functional parameters (signaling pathways, hormonal expression and secretion, cell viabi...

Pituitary adenomas comprise a heterogeneous group of tumours causing serious comorbidities, which would benefit from identification of novel, common molecular/cellular biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The ghrelin system comprises a complex molecular family with multiple functions, and some of its components have been linked to development of various endocrine-related cancers. In this work we aim at better delineating the patho-physiological significance of the ghrelin regul...

Somatostatin analogs (SSA) are a first-line treatment for pituitary adenomas (PA). Indeed, multi-receptor targeting SSA such as octreotide and pasireotide are being successfully used to control hormone secretion and/or tumor growth. Unfortunately, many PA escape from SSA-therapy, which could be related to somatostatin receptor (sst) presence, abundance, availability and/or signaling. In order to better define the molecular/cellular features associated to octreotide and pasireo...

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease associated with important metabolic and inflammatory comorbidities, which can be reversed or improved after bariatric-surgery (BS). However, some underlying mechanisms, independent of weight-loss, are still unknown. In this context, dysregulations in the inflammasome, a multiproteic complex that promotes cytokine maturation and induces cellular pyroptosis, has been associated to the development/stage of some cancer-types and obesity. Howe...

Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) represent the most common type of pituitary adenomas. NFPAs are mostly macroadenomas (>1 cm) at diagnosis and, despite their lack of functional hormone hypersecretion, are associated to severe comorbidities related to mass effect (i.e. headaches, visual defects and hypopituitarism). Transsphenoidal surgery is the mainstay of NFPAs treatment, although it is often not definitive, mainly due to the invasion of neighboring intracrania...