An Endocrine Society Thematic Issue: Endocrine Neoplasia and Cancer 2021

Huggins and Hodges demonstrated the therapeutic effect of gonadal testosterone deprivation in the 1940s and therefore firmly established the concept that prostate cancer is a highly androgen-dependent disease. Since that time, hormonal therapy has undergone iterative advancement.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), a rare tumor syndrome that is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, is continuing to raise great interest for endocrinology, gastroenterology, surgery, radiology, genetics, and molecular biology specialists.

Pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas are characterized by a unique molecular landscape that allows their assignment to clusters based on underlying genetic alterations. With around 30% to 35% of Caucasian patients showing germline mutations in susceptibility genes, pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas have the highest rate of heritability among all tumors.

The hormone prolactin has been implicated in breast cancer pathogenesis and regulates chromatin engagement by the transcription factor, STAT5A. STAT5A is known to inducibly bind promoters and cis-regulatory elements genome-wide, though the mechanisms by which it exerts specificity and regulation of target gene expression remain enigmatic.

Chromosomal instability (CIN), or the dynamic change in chromosome number and composition, has been observed in cancer for decades. Recently, this phenomenon has been implicated as facilitating the acquisition of cancer hallmarks and enabling the formation of aggressive disease. Hence, CIN has the potential to serve as a therapeutic target for a wide range of cancers.

Pituitary adenomas have a staggering 16.7% lifetime prevalence and can be devastating in many patients because of profound endocrine and neurologic dysfunction. To date, no clear genomic or epigenomic markers correlate with their onset or severity. Herein, we investigate the impact of the O-GlcNAc posttranslational modification in their etiology.

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has been one of the most frequent endocrine malignancies around the world. Although most PTC patients have a favorable prognosis, a subgroup of patients die, especially when disease recurrence occurs.

Observational studies suggest that low vitamin D status may be a risk factor for cancer. In a population with prediabetes and overweight/obesity that is at higher risk of cancer than the general population, we sought to determine if vitamin D supplementation lowers the risk of cancer and precancers.

Although diabetes mellitus (DM) was reported to be associated with incident colorectal cancer (CRC), the detailed association between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and incident CRC has not been fully understood. We assessed whether hyperglycemia is associated with a higher risk for CRC.

Tumor-induced hypoglycemia is a serious disorder most commonly caused by insulinoma or non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia (NICTH). The hypoglycemia can be severe and refractory to conventional therapy, leading to significant morbidity and mortality.

Percutaneous, ultrasound-guided laser ablation is effective in nodular thyroid disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term (10-year) efficacy and safety of laser ablation in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules.

Latin American reports on pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are scarce. Recent studies demonstrate changes in clinical presentation and management of these patients. Herein, we assessed the main characteristics of PPGL patients in our academic center over the past 4 decades.