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- Abstract: anti-androgenic x
- Abstract: Drugs x
Search for other papers by Giovanni Tulipano in
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A variety of endocrine and metabolic signals regulate pituitary cell function acting through the hypothalamus-pituitary neuroendocrine axes or directly at the pituitary level. The underlying intracellular transduction mechanisms in pituitary cells are still debated. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) functions as a cellular sensor of low energy stores in all mammalian cells and promotes adaptive changes in response to calorie restriction. It is also regarded as a target for therapy of proliferative disorders. Various hormones and drugs can promote tissue-specific activation or inhibition of AMPK by enhancing or inhibiting AMPK phosphorylation, respectively. This review explores the preclinical studies published in the last decade that investigate the role of AMP-activated protein kinase in the intracellular transduction pathways downstream of endocrine and metabolic signals or drugs affecting pituitary cell function, and its role as a target for drug therapy of pituitary proliferative disorders. The effects of the hypoglycemic agent metformin, which is an indirect AMPK activator, are discussed. The multiple effects of metformin on cell metabolism and cell signalling and ultimately on cell function may be either dependent or independent of AMPK. The in vitro effects of metformin may also help highlighting differences in metabolic requirements between pituitary adenomatous cells and normal cells.
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Objective
To assess the current management of prolactinoma among endocrinologists in China.
Methods
An online survey of a large sample of endocrinologists was conducted in China. The questionnaire included 21 questions related to controversial issues about the management of prolactinomas. Doctors in the endocrinology department of a university-affiliated hospital or a comprehensive secondary hospital in 12 cities from East, West, South, North and Middle China were surveyed.
Results
A total of 290 valid questionnaires were collected, and the response rate was 40%. When hyperprolactinemia occurred, 97% of the respondents would test thyroid-stimulating hormone routinely. 22% of the respondents considered that prolactin levels <100 ng/mL exclude the presence of a prolactinoma. Only 9% of the respondents believed that prolactin >250 ng/mL could occur in all the following situations as macroprolactinoma, mircoprolactinoma, macroprolactinemia and drug-induced hyperprolactinemia. Surgery was not recommended by 272 (94%) endocrinologists as the first choice for treating microprolactinomas. 58% and 92% of endocrinologists would start drug treatment for microprolactinomas and macroprolactinomas at diagnosis. 70% and 40% chose to withdraw treatment after 2–3 years of prolactin normalization in microprolactinomas and macroprolactinomas. In case of pregnancy, 57% of the respondents considered bromocriptine as choice for women patients. Drug discontinuation after pregnancy was advocated in 63% and 27% for microprolactinoma and macroprolactinoma. Moreover, 44% of endocrinologists believed that breastfeeding was allowable in both micro- and macroprolactinoma.
Conclusion
This is the first study to investigate the management of prolactinomas among endocrinologists in China. We found that the current clinical treatment was not uniform. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the training of endocrinologists to improve clinical diagnosis and treatment practices.
Research Center for Translational Medicine, Cancer Stem Cell Institute, East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Search for other papers by Shan Wu in
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Search for other papers by Jianjun Zhou in
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Search for other papers by Jing Guo in
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Search for other papers by Jianchen Li in
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Search for other papers by Zai Wang in
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Angiogenesis has a pivotal role in the growth and metastasis of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). Apatinib inhibits angiogenesis as a highly selective KDR inhibitor and has been used to treat advanced gastric cancer and malignancies in clinical settings. However, the efficacy of apatinib in PNETs remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the antitumor efficacy of apatinib with that of the standard PNET drug sunitinib in our subcutaneous and liver metastasis models of insulinoma and non-functional PNET. Our results revealed that apatinib had a generally comparable or even superior antitumor effect to that of sunitinib on primary PNET, and it inhibited angiogenesis without directly causing tumor cell cytotoxicity. Apatinib inhibited the tumor in a dose-dependent manner, and the high dose was well tolerated in mice. We also found that the apatinib efficacy in liver metastasis models was cell-type (disease) selective. Although apatinib efficiently inhibited INR1G9-represented non-functional PNET liver metastasis, it led to the emergence of a hypoxic area in the INS-1-represented insulinoma and promoted liver metastasis. Our study demonstrated that apatinib has promise for clinical applications in certain malignant PNETs, and the application of anti-angiogenesis drugs to benign insulinomas may require careful consideration.
Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
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Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
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Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Galilee Medical Center, Nahariya, Israel
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TSH routine testing in hospitalized patients has low efficacy, but may be beneficial in a selected subgroup of patients. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of routine thyroid function tests among patients admitted to internal medicine departments. It is a retrospective study. A randomly selected cohort of hospitalized patients with abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) blood tests drawn as part of admission protocol. Patient data were collected from the electronic medical files and analyzed for its efficacy. TSH as a screening test was proven unnecessary in 75% (174) of the study population. Leading causes were non-thyroidal illness syndrome, drugs affecting the test results and subclinical disorders. TSH testing was found to be clinically helpful in only 9 patients; however, all of them had other clinical need for TSH testing. We found a clinically abnormal TSH in 20 patients, hypothyroidism in 11 patients and thyrotoxicosis in 9 patients. Low efficacy ascribed to TSH screening test by this study correlates with recent recommendations that indicate TSH screening in admitted patients only with accompanying clinical suspicion. Most probably, the majority of patients found by screening to have thyrotoxicosis have non-thyroidal illness or drug effects so the threshold for FT4 to diagnose overt thyrotoxicosis should be higher than that in ambulatory patients. In elderly patients, clinically relevant TSH disturbances are more frequent and are harder to diagnose, therefore, TSH screening in this group of patients might be beneficial.
Search for other papers by Mette H Viuff in
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Department of Endocrinology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
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In this commentary, we discuss the state of affairs concerning the clinical care of females with Turner syndrome (TS) in Germany. TS is a rare disease and new international guidelines describe an appropriate setup for optimal clinical care. Several countries have implemented a program with centralized adult Turner syndrome clinics, which are now found in France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, parts of England and possibly other countries, but hitherto not in Germany. Such an approach should ensure the availability of high quality multi-disciplinary care for all women with TS to be treated and to detect all the conditions that have been associated with TS, which typically appear at odd times during the lifetime of a female with TS. Care should be offered at no added cost for the patient, and treatment with relevant drugs should be available at reasonable cost for the individual patient. Currently, it is quite problematic that many female sex hormone preparations are not available at low cost in a number of countries. Additional problems include supply chain issue which lead to patients not being able to buy their usual drug for a certain period of time. We think it is timely that countries improve the care for individuals with rare conditions, such as TS.
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Prostate cancer (PC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men worldwide, despite continuously improved treatment strategies. Patients with metastatic disease are treated by androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) that with time results in the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) usually established as metastases within bone tissue. The androgen receptor (AR) transcription factor is the main driver of CRPC development and of acquired resistance to drugs given for treatment of CRPC, while a minority of patients have CRPC that is non-AR driven. Molecular mechanisms behind epithelial AR reactivation in CRPC include AR gene amplification and overexpression, AR mutations, expression of constitutively active AR variants, intra-tumoural and adrenal androgen synthesis and promiscuous AR activation by other factors. This review will summarize AR alterations of clinical relevance for patients with CRPC, with focus on constitutively active AR variants, their possible association with AR amplification and structural rearrangements as well as their ability to predict patient resistance to AR targeting drugs. The review will also discuss AR signalling in the tumour microenvironment and its possible relevance for metastatic growth and therapy.
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Search for other papers by Caroline H Brennan in
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Substantial evidence shows that the hypophyseal–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and corticosteroids are involved in the process of addiction to a variety of agents, and the adrenal cortex has a key role. In general, plasma concentrations of cortisol (or corticosterone in rats or mice) increase on drug withdrawal in a manner that suggests correlation with the behavioural and symptomatic sequelae both in man and in experimental animals. Corticosteroid levels fall back to normal values in resumption of drug intake. The possible interactions between brain corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) products and the systemic HPA, and additionally with the local CRH–POMC system in the adrenal gland itself, are complex. Nevertheless, the evidence increasingly suggests that all may be interlinked and that CRH in the brain and brain POMC products interact with the blood-borne HPA directly or indirectly. Corticosteroids themselves are known to affect mood profoundly and may themselves be addictive. Additionally, there is a heightened susceptibility for addicted subjects to relapse in conditions that are associated with change in HPA activity, such as in stress, or at different times of the day. Recent studies give compelling evidence that a significant part of the array of addictive symptoms is directly attributable to the secretory activity of the adrenal cortex and the actions of corticosteroids. Additionally, sex differences in addiction may also be attributable to adrenocortical function: in humans, males may be protected through higher secretion of DHEA (and DHEAS), and in rats, females may be more susceptible because of higher corticosterone secretion.
Search for other papers by Agnieszka Kosowska in
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Search for other papers by Michał Woz´niak in
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Diabetes and cancer are prevalent diseases whose incidence is increasing globally. Diabetic women have a moderate risk increase in ovarian cancer, suggested to be due to an interaction between these two disorders. Furthermore, patients manifesting both diseases have associated worse prognosis, reduced survival and shorter relapse-free survival. According to current recommendations, incretin drugs such as Exenatide, a synthetic analog of Exendin-4, and Liraglutide are used as therapy for the type 2 diabetes (T2D). We studied the effects of GLP-1 and Exendin-4 on migration, apoptosis and metalloproteinase production in two human ovarian cancer cells (SKOV-3 and CAOV-3). Exendin-4 inhibited migration and promoted apoptosis through caspase 3/7 activation. Exendin-4 also modulated the expression of key metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and their inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2). Vascular endothelial cells, which contribute to the formation and progression of metastasis, were also analyzed. TNF-α-stimulated endothelial cells from iliac artery after Exendin-4 treatment showed reduced production of adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1). Additionally, incretin treatment inhibited activation of apoptosis in TNF-α-stimulated endothelial cells. In the same experiment, MMPs (MMP-1 and MMP-9), which are relevant for tumor development, were also reduced. Our study demonstrated that incretin drugs may reduce cancer cell proliferation and dissemination potential, hence limiting the risk of metastasis in epithelial ovarian cancer.
Search for other papers by Xinge Tao in
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Xiamen Key Laboratory for Clinical Efficacy and Evidence-Based Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Diabetes Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
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Objective
The aim of this study was to compare the differences in incident population, comorbidities, and glucose-lowering drug prescriptions between newly diagnosed patients with early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and those with late-onset T2DM to provide real-world evidence for clinical practice.
Methods
This study was based on the Shanghai Hospital Link Database (SHLD). Anonymized electronic medical record (EHR) data from 2013 to 2021 were included in this study. Newly diagnosed patients with T2DM were defined as those without related diagnostic records or glucose-lowering medicine prescriptions in the past 3 years. Early-onset T2DM was defined as patients who were aged 18–40 years old at the first visit for T2DM to represent those who were born after the 1980s. And late-onset T2DM was defined as those aged 65–80 years old to represent those who were born in a relatively undeveloped period. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed to describe their incidence number, glucose-lowering drug prescriptions, and comorbidities at the first visit to the hospital between two T2DM groups.
Results
There were a total of 35,457 newly diagnosed patients with early-onset T2DM and 149,108 newly diagnosed patients with late-onset T2DM included in this study. Patients with late-onset T2DM constituted the majority and their number increased by 2.5% on average by years, while the number of patients with early-onset T2DM remained stable each year. Compared with late-onset T2DM patients, more early-onset T2DM patients had dyslipidemia at the first visit to hospitals (9.5% vs 7.7%, P < 0.01) despite their significant age differences. Patients with early-onset T2DM were more likely to use metformin (74.8% vs 46.5, P < 0.01), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DDP-4i) (16.7% vs 11.2%, P < 0.01), thiazolidinediones (TZD) (14.9% vs 8.4%, P < 0.01), sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2-i) (0.8% vs 0.3%, P < 0.01), and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) (3.7% vs 0.5%, P < 0.01) at their first visit to the hospital.
Conclusions
Different characteristics were observed between patients with early-onset T2DM and those with late-onset T2DM. Compared with patients with late-onset T2DM, those with early-onset T2DM were more prone to dyslipidemia and had novel organ-protective drugs prescribed.
West Cancer Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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West Cancer Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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Hormonal cancers affect over 400,000 men and women and contribute collectively to over 100,000 deaths in the United States alone. Thanks to advances in the understanding of these cancers at the molecular level and to the discovery of several disease-modifying therapeutics, the last decade has seen a plateauing or even a decreasing trend in the number of deaths from these cancers. These advanced therapeutics not only effectively slow the growth of hormonal cancers, but also provide an insight on how these cancers become refractory and evolve as an altogether distinct subset. This review summarizes the current therapeutic trends in hormonal cancers, with focus on prostate, breast and ovarian cancers. The review discusses the clinical drugs being used now, promising molecules that are going through various stages of development and makes some predictions on how the therapeutic landscape will shift in the next decade.
