Faculty Bibliography

Context:Increased renal sodium reabsorption contributes to hypertension in Cushing syndrome (CS). Renal sodium transporters can be analyzed noninvasively in urinary extracellular vesicles (uEVs). Objective:To analyze renal sodium transporters in uEVs of patients with CS and hypertension. Design:Observational study. Setting:University hospital. Participants:The uEVs were isolated by ultracentrifugation and analyzed by immunoblotting in 10 patients with CS and 7 age-matched healthy participants. In 7 patients with CS, uEVs were analyzed before and after treatment. Main Outcome Measure:Abundance of protein in uEVs. Results:The 10 patients with CS were divided in those with suppressed and nonsuppressed renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS; n = 5 per group). Patients with CS with suppressed RAAS had similar blood pressure but significantly lower serum potassium than patients with CS with nonsuppressed RAAS. Compared with healthy participants, only patients with suppressed RAAS had higher phosphorylated Na+-K+-Cl- cotransporter type 2 (pNKCC2) and higher total and phosphorylated Na+-Cl- cotransporter (pNCC) in uEVs. Serum potassium but not urinary free cortisol correlated with pNKCC2, pNCC, and Na+-Cl- cotransporter (NCC) in uEVs. Treatment of CS reversed the increases in pNKCC2, NCC, and pNCC. Conclusions:CS increases renal sodium transporter abundance in uEVs in patients with hypertension and suppressed RAAS. Potassium has recently been identified as an important driver of NCC activity, and low serum potassium may also contribute to increased renal sodium reabsorption and hypertension in CS. These results may also be relevant for hypertension induced by exogenous glucocorticoids.

OBJECTIVE:Hypercortisolism in Cushing's syndrome (CS) is associated with impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL), which may persist despite remission. We used the data entered into the European Registry on Cushing's syndrome (ERCUSYN) to evaluate if patients with CS of pituitary origin (PIT-CS) have worse HRQoL, both before and after treatment than patients with adrenal causes (ADR-CS). METHODS:Data from 595 patients (492 women; 83%) who completed the CushingQoL and/or EQ-5D questionnaires at baseline and/or following treatment were analysed. RESULTS:At baseline, HRQoL did not differ between PIT-CS (n = 293) and ADR-CS (n = 120) on both EuroQoL and CushingQoL. Total CushingQoL score in PIT-CS and ADR-CS was 41 ± 18 and 44 ± 20, respectively (P = .7). At long-time follow-up (>1 year after treatment) total CushingQoL score was however lower in PIT-CS than ADR-CS (56 ± 20 vs 62 ± 23; P = .045). In a regression analysis, after adjustment for baseline age, gender, remission status, duration of active CS, glucocorticoid dependency and follow-up time, no association was observed between aetiology and HRQoL. Remission was associated with better total CushingQoL score (P < .001), and older age at diagnosis with worse total score (P = .01). Depression at diagnosis was associated with worse total CushingQoL score at the last follow-up (P < .001). CONCLUSION:PIT-CS patients had poorer HRQoL than ADR-CS at long-term follow-up, despite similar baseline scoring. After adjusting for remission status, no interaetiology differences in HRQoL scoring were found. Age and presence of depression at diagnosis of CS may be potential predictors of worse HRQoL regardless of CS aetiology.

BACKGROUND:A substantial proportion of all pheochromocytomas is currently detected during the evaluation of an adrenal incidentaloma. Recently, it has been suggested that biochemical testing to rule out pheochromocytoma is unnecessary in case of an adrenal incidentaloma with an unenhanced attenuation value ≤10 Hounsfield Units (HU) at computed tomography (CT). OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:We aimed to determine the sensitivity of the 10 HU threshold value to exclude a pheochromocytoma. METHODS:Retrospective multicenter study with systematic reassessment of preoperative unenhanced CT scans performed in patients in whom a histopathologically proven pheochromocytoma had been diagnosed. Unenhanced attenuation values were determined independently by two experienced radiologists. Sensitivity of the 10 HU threshold was calculated, and interobserver consistency was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS:214 patients were identified harboring a total number of 222 pheochromocytomas. Maximum tumor diameter was 51 (39-74) mm. The mean attenuation value within the region of interest was 36 ± 10 HU. Only one pheochromocytoma demonstrated an attenuation value ≤10 HU, resulting in a sensitivity of 99.6% (95% CI: 97.5-99.9). ICC was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.75-0.86) with a standard error of measurement of 7.3 HU between observers. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The likelihood of a pheochromocytoma with an unenhanced attenuation value ≤10 HU on CT is very low. The interobserver consistency in attenuation measurement is excellent. Our study supports the recommendation that in patients with an adrenal incidentaloma biochemical testing for ruling out pheochromocytoma is only indicated in adrenal tumors with an unenhanced attenuation value >10 HU.

BACKGROUND:Surgery is the definitive treatment of Cushing's syndrome (CS) but medications may also be used as a first-line therapy. Whether preoperative medical treatment (PMT) affects postoperative outcome remains controversial. OBJECTIVE:(1) Evaluate how frequently PMT is given to CS patients across Europe; (2) examine differences in preoperative characteristics of patients who receive PMT and those who undergo primary surgery and (3) determine if PMT influences postoperative outcome in pituitary-dependent CS (PIT-CS). PATIENTS AND METHODS/METHODS:1143 CS patients entered into the ERCUSYN database from 57 centers in 26 countries. Sixty-nine percent had PIT-CS, 25% adrenal-dependent CS (ADR-CS), 5% CS from an ectopic source (ECT-CS) and 1% were classified as having CS from other causes (OTH-CS). RESULTS: < 0.01). Within 6 months of surgery, no differences in morbidity or remission rates were observed between SX and PMT groups. CONCLUSIONS:PMT may confound the interpretation of immediate postoperative outcome. Follow-up is recommended to definitely evaluate surgical results.

Somatostatin receptors are a pivotal target for treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET), either with somatostatin analogues (SSA) or radiolabeled SSA. The highest affinity target for the most commonly used SSA is the somatostatin receptor type 2 (sst

Mesenteric fibrosis (MF) surrounding a mesenteric mass is a hallmark feature of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumours (SI-NETs). Since this can induce intestinal obstruction, oedema and ischaemia, prophylactic resection of the primary tumour and mesenteric mass is often recommended. This study assessed the predictors for mesenteric metastasis and fibrosis and the effect of MF and palliative surgery on survival. A retrospective analysis of 559 patients with pathologically proven SI-NET and available CT-imaging data was performed. Clinical characteristics, presence of mesenteric mass and fibrosis on CT imaging and the effect of palliative abdominal surgery on overall survival were assessed. We found that MF was present in 41.4%. Older age, 5-HIAA excretion ≥67 μmol/24 h, serum CgA ≥121.5 μg/L and a mesenteric mass ≥27.5 mm were independent predictors of MF. In patients ≤52 years, mesenteric mass was less often found in women than in men (39% vs 64%, P = 0.002). Corrected for age, tumour grade, CgA and liver metastasis, MF was not a prognostic factor for overall survival. In patients undergoing palliative surgery, metastasectomy of mesenteric mass or prophylactic surgery did not result in survival benefit. In conclusion, we confirmed known predictors of MF and mesenteric mass and suggest a role for sex hormones as women ≤52 years have less often a mesenteric mass. Furthermore, the presence of MF has no effect on survival in a multivariate analysis, and we found no benefit of metastasectomy of mesenteric mass or prophylactic surgery on overall survival.

Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumours (SI-NETs) are neoplasms characterized by their ability to secrete biogenic amines and peptides. These cause distinct clinical pathology including carcinoid syndrome, marked by diarrhoea and flushing, as well as fibrosis, notably mesenteric fibrosis. Mesenteric fibrosis often results in significant morbidity by causing intestinal obstruction, oedema and ischaemia. Although advancements have been made to alleviate symptoms of carcinoid syndrome and prolong the survival of patients with SI-NETs, therapeutic options for patients with mesenteric fibrosis are still limited. As improved insight in the complex pathogenesis of mesenteric fibrosis is key to the development of new therapies, we evaluated the literature for known and putative mediators of fibrosis in SI-NETs. In this review, we discuss the tumour microenvironment, growth factors and signalling pathways involved in the complex process of fibrosis development and tumour progression in SI-NETs, in order to elucidate potential new avenues for scientific research and therapies to improve the management of patients suffering from the complications of mesenteric fibrosis.

Context:Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine, usually benign, tumors. Currently, the only reliable criterion of malignancy is the presence of metastases. Objective:The aim of this study was to identify genes associated with malignancy in PPGLs. Design:Transcriptomic profiling was performed on 40 benign and 11 malignant PPGLs. Genes showing a significantly different expression between benign and malignant PPGLs with a ratio ≥4 were confirmed and tested in an independent series by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry was performed for the validated genes on 109 benign and 32 malignant PPGLs. Functional assays were performed with hPheo1 cells. Setting:This study was conducted at the Department of Pathology of the Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam Human Molecular Genetics laboratory of the de Duve Institute, University of Louvain. Patients:PPGL samples from 179 patients, diagnosed between 1972 and 2015, were included. Main outcome measures:Associations between gene expression and malignancy were tested using supervised clustering approaches. Results:Ten differentially expressed genes were selected based on messenger RNA (mRNA) expression array data. Contactin 4 (CNTN4) was overexpressed in malignant vs benign tumors [4.62-fold; false discovery rate (FDR), 0.001]. Overexpression at the mRNA level was confirmed using qRT-PCR (2.90-fold, P = 0.02; validation set: 4.26-fold, P = 0.005). Consistent findings were obtained in The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort (2.7-fold; FDR, 0.02). CNTN4 protein was more frequently expressed in malignant than in benign PPGLs by immunohistochemistry (58% vs 17%; P = 0.002). Survival after 7 days of culture under starvation conditions was significantly enhanced in hPheo1 cells transfected with CNTN4 complementary DNA. Conclusion:CNTN4 expression is consistently associated with malignant behavior in PPGLs.

Context:The disease course of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) patients is heterogeneous. A marker for prognosis and treatment response would facilitate choices for diagnosis and therapy. In other cancer types, circulating cell-free tumor DNA predicted tumor dynamics. Case Descriptions:The present pilot study included six patients. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) showed mutations in three ACC cases. From these patients, blood was drawn before (1 to 2 weeks) and after surgery and cell-free circulating DNA (cfDNA) was isolated. Tumor-specific mutations were found in the cfDNA of one of the three patients, with metastasized ACC at diagnosis. NGS of the tumor showed an NRAS mutation (c.182A>G:p.Q61R) in 78%, a TP53 mutation (c.856G>A:p.E286K) in 60%, and a TERT gene mutation (1295250C>T) in 28% of the reads. The preoperative cfDNA showed the same mutations at a frequency of 64%, 32%, and 2%, respectively. The postoperative cfDNA showed the same mutations but at lower frequencies (52%, 16%, and 3%, respectively). The patient was postoperatively treated with mitotane and chemotherapy. No mutations were detected in the corresponding leukocyte DNA or in the cfDNA from the two other patients. Conclusions:To the best of our knowledge, we report for the first time mutations occurring at high levels in cfDNA collected before and after surgery from one of three patients, after previous identification in the tumor. However, in the cfDNA from two patients with known mutations, we were unable to reliably detect mutations in the cfDNA. Our results indicate that mutation detection in cfDNA can vary among ACC patients, and other approaches might be required to detect the tumor response and monitor progressive disease.

Purpose: Bronchial and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are slow-growing tumors, which frequently express somatostatin receptors on their cell membranes. These receptors are targets for therapy with Lutetium-177-labeled somatostatin analogues. We have treated over 1,200 patients with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with [¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTA⁰,Tyr³]octreotate (¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE) since the year 2000 and present the results on efficacy, survival, and toxicity of this therapy.Experimental Design: For safety analysis, 610 patients treated with a cumulative dose of at least 100 mCi (3.7 GBq) ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE were included. A subgroup of 443 Dutch patients who were treated with a cumulative dose of at least 600 mCi (22.2 GBq) ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE before 2013 was further analyzed for efficacy and survival.Results: The objective response rate of the total group of patients was 39%. Stable disease was reached in 43% of patients. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for all NET patients were 29 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 26-33 months] and 63 months (95% CI, 55-72 months). Long-term toxicity included acute leukemia in four patients (0.7%) and myelodysplastic syndrome in nine patients (1.5%). No therapy-related long-term renal or hepatic failure occurred.Conclusions: PRRT with ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE is a favorable therapeutic option in patients with metastatic bronchial and gastroenteropancreatic NETs that express somatostatin receptors. PRRT with ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTATATE is safe with few side-effects and shows good response rates with PFS of 29 months and OS of 63 months. Clin Cancer Res; 23(16); 4617-24. ©2017 AACR.