Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A syndrome (MEN 2A) is caused by a germline mutation in the RET proto-oncogene and its phenotype includes medullary thyroid cancer, pheochromocytoma and primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Parathyroid reimplantation in the sternocleidomastoid muscle or in the brachioradial muscle can be performed in case of intraoperative lesion of the parathyroid glands. In some cases, PHPT may occur due to the proliferation of autotransplanted...

IntroductionThe measurement of serum thyroglobulin (Tg), a glycoprotein produced exclusively by follicular thyroid cells, is an important tumour marker used in the follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) and residual or recurrent disease. However, its role as a screening tool before thyroid surgery is not yet defined, as benign conditions can result in its increase.ObjectiveThe aim o...

Introduction: Riedel’s thyroiditis (RT) is a rare chronic inflammatory disease characterized by a dense fibrosis that replaces normal thyroid parenchyma. The most common manifestation is a stony hard thyroid mass, commonly associated with compressive symptoms. Histological confirmation is essential for diagnosis and the main differential diagnosis is the anaplastic thyroid cancer. The management is challenging and there is no agreed standard treatment, since only a few ca...

Introduction: Struma ovarii is a rare form of ovarian teratoma mostly composed of thyroid tissue. In about 5% of the cases, well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma may arise in struma ovarii. As this medical entity is so exceptional, there is still no consensus on diagnosis and treatment.Case Reports: A 52-year-old old woman was submitted in 2009 to total hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. Histopathology r...

Introduction: The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology is the standard for interpreting fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and created a new diagnostic category (III): ‘atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance’ (AUS/FLUS). The risk of malignancy for this category has been ascribed of 5–15% but the real malignancy rate remains unclear and plays a key role to define appropriate management.Ob...

Introduction: Intraoperative identification of neck lesions in patients who have undergone previous neck surgery is particularly difficult, because of operative scarring and distorted anatomy. Radioguided occult lesion localisation (ROLL) involves the preoperative intratumoral ultrasound-guided injection of a radioactive tracer. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of roll in two patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) who underwent previous neck exploration...

Introduction: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder characterized by hypercalcemia due to an unregulated overproduction of parathyroid hormone (PTH). PHPT is most commonly caused by a single adenoma of the parathyroid gland, usually located just behind the thyroid gland. However, in rare cases, they can have an ectopic location, including intrathyroid adenomas. In some cases, the measurement of intact PTH in the wash out fluid obtained by US-Fine Ne...

Background: Pituitary apoplexy occurs when a tumor undergoes acute hemorrhage, infarct, or both. This often leads to acute severe symptoms (clinical) but can also occur without them and diagnosed on CT/MRI, surgery, pathology (subclinical). To investigate clinical and subclinical apoplexy in nonfunctioning tumors (n=221) from our database.Design: Retrospective review of clinical presentation, tumor characteristics and outcome of 24 patients, 11 fe...

Introduction: The association of autoimmune diseases in the same individual is common. It is well documented that Graves’ disease (GD) is associated to various autoimmune diseases, including: pernicious anemia, vitiligo, type 1 diabetes, Addison’s disease, systemic sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. In addition, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) may be associated with rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogr...

Pituitary carcinoma is rare (0.1–0.2% of pituitary tumors), with a poor prognosis. It usually presents as invasive and secretory (ACTH or prolactin) macroadenoma. The diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of metastases. The latency period between the diagnosis of adenoma and carcinoma is variable (9.5 years for corticotrophinoma). The treatment includes surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.We report a 58-year-old male, complaining of visual distu...