Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Immunotherapy is currently being explored in many tumour types with encouraging results, but has not yet been evaluated in neuroendocrine tumours (NET). Our aim is to characterise the immune landscape of NET and determine which immune-modulatory pathways control the tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in order to develop a rational approach for immunotherapy in this tumour type.Methods: Peripheral blood and fresh tissue was obtained from c...

Background: Bone metastases have been described in up to 15% of patients with NETs and are associated with a worse clinical outcome. Here we investigate the role of CTCs as a marker of bone metastases in a large cohort of patients with gastroenteropancreatic NETs.Methods: To be eligible for the study, patients were required to be ≥ 18 years old, have histologically confirmed midgut or pancreatic NET (pNET) and metastatic disease measurable by RECIS...

Introduction: According to the free hormone transport hypothesis, only free testosterone (FT) is considered biologically active. Due to low circulating levels and technical challenges of direct FT measurements, calculators have been developed to estimate FT from serum total T, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and albumin levels. However, genetic polymorphisms altering SHBG’s binding affinity or capacity might result in calculation imprecisions with consequent incorrect...

Background: Immunotherapy mediated adrenocorticotrpic hormone (ACTH) deficiency is an important toxicity related to immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICPi) potentially resulting in significant morbidity. Early diagnosis and optimal management are essential and frequently necessitate inpatient hospital treatment. We have previously reported an ambulatory management pathway for ICPi-induced ACTH deficiency in 4 patients. We sought to report the outcomes of this pathway in a larger c...

The onset of human lactation is characterised by increased breast fullness and the start of copious milk secretion. The process, which typically occurs 1-4 days postpartum, is triggered by a decrease in serum progesterone and high prolactin concentrations, although the exact levels are ill-defined. We aim to establish reference intervals for hormones triggering the onset of sustained lactation and understand how breastfeeding influences hormone secretion, so as to improve the ...

Introduction: Transgender women on gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) with estrogens and anti-androgens have low serum androgen levels. These low levels may be associated with clinical symptoms such as depressed mood, reduced sexual desire and tiredness. Whether androgen levels change over the course of anti-androgen use and after gonadectomy, in a context of unchanged estrogen treatment, remains to be elucidated.Methods: This study is part of the E...

Primary aldosteronism is the most common form of secondary hypertension. Somatic mutations in KCNJ5, ATP1A1, ATP2B3 and CACNA1D have been described in 50% of aldosterone producing adenomas (APA). To identify genetic alterations in new genes, we performed whole exome sequencing in 23 patients with APA negative for recurrent mutations in known driver genes. A low number of somatic variations were identified per patient, ranging from 1 to 22. N...

Background: Everolimus, a mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor, is licensed for use in adult pts with advanced well-differentiated pNETs in the UK. Limited Health-Related Quality-of-Life (HrQOL) data are available for everolimus therapy in these pts.Methods: This prospective study assessed changes in HrQoL (by monthly patient-reported EORTC QLQ-C30, -G.I.NET21 and EQ-5D questionnaires), in pts with pNETs during the first 6 months (mo) of treatment wit...

The functional state of the thyroid is usually determined by thyrotropin (TSH), whose serum levels depend on circulating thyroid hormone (TH) levels. This feedback mechanism is tightly controlled in the individual and contrasts broad reference range for TSH in the general population, leading to the concept of subclinical thyroid disease. We studied a model of experimental thyrotoxicosis in humans employing an untargeted metabolome and proteome approach. This allowed us to gain...

Introduction: Maternal thyroid hormone during early pregnancy is important for proper fetal growth and development. Thyroid hormone receptors are widely expressed in placental tissue. Interestingly, thyroid dysfunction and suboptimal placental function have both been associated with pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, premature delivery and fetal growth restriction. First, we studied the association of the maternal thyroid and placental function and second, we inve...