Search NEL Online

Case Reports 2017; 37(8): 535-539 PubMed PMID: 28326748 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Appendiceal Neoplasms:diagnosis, Carcinoid Tumor:diagnosis, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Parturition:physiology, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic:diagnosis, Prognosis, Receptors, Somatostatin:metabolism, Treatment Outcome,.   

: Neuroendocrine neoplasms are detected very rarely in pregnant women. The following is a case report of carcinoid tumor of the appendix diagnosed in 28 year-old woman at 25th week of gestation. The woman delivered spontaneously a healthy baby at the 38th week of gestation. She did not require adjuvant therapy with somatostatin analogues. The patient remained in remission. There are not established standards of care due to the very rare incidence of carcinoid tumors in pregnancy. A review of the literature related to management and prognosis in such cases was done....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2011; 32(1): 96-101 PubMed PMID: 21407161 Citation  Keywords:  Adenoma:metabolism, Adult, Aged, Biopsy, Female, Gonadotropins, Pituitary:metabolism, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local:metabolism, Pituitary Neoplasms:metabolism, Receptors, Somatostatin:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVE: Surgical treatment of pituitary macroadenomas often fails because of tumor recurrence after the operation. The causes of tumor recurrence are complex, but one of them may be the high growth potential of the adenoma. As somatostatin receptors mediate antiproliferative, anti-angiogenic and pro-apoptotic actions, it seemed reasonable to investigate their expression in dependence on the adenoma recurrence.

METHODS: Samples of primary and recurrent gonadotropinomas excised surgically from patients were examined. This type of pituitary adenomas was chosen because of its relatively high recurrence rate. The adenoma phenotype and expression of somatostatin receptor subtypes 1-5 (SSTR 1-5) were investigated by immunohistochemistry, and the level of SSTR expression was semiquantitatively scored.

RESULTS: It was found that the adenomas undergoing the early recurrence have lower expression of SSTR 2A and 3 in comparison to those which did not recur during 5 years lasting observation. On the other hand, the recurrent tumors show higher expression of SSTR 1, 2A, 3 and 5 subtypes than their primary counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS: It is hypothesized that SSTR may, at least in part, counteract adenoma recurrence. On the other hand, it can be also presumed that the recurrent gonadotropinomas may be more sensitive to somatostatin analog treatment than primary ones. These hypotheses need to be confirmed in further studies....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2008; 29(1): 113-116 PubMed PMID: 18283262 Citation  Keywords:  Adenoma:metabolism, Adult, Aged, Female, Growth Hormone:metabolism, Hemangiopericytoma:metabolism, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pituitary Neoplasms:metabolism, Prolactin:metabolism, Receptors, Somatostatin:metabolism, Somatostatin:pharmacology, Tumor Cells,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of somatostatin (SST) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion from clinically non-functioning pituitary tumors incubated in vitro.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eight pituitary tumors surgically removed were investigated. All of the tumors were diagnosed before surgery as non-functioning. Seven of them were diagnosed after surgery as pituitary adenomas and expressed either gonadotropins or their subunits as detected by immunohistochemistry. Two tumors additionally expressed prolactin and growth hormone. One tumor was immunonegative for pituitary hormones and was diagnosed as haemangiopericytoma. All tumors but one were investigated immunohistochemically to detect the somatostatin receptors and expressed at least 3 of 5 subtypes of somatostatin receptors. The cells isolated from the examined tumors were exposed in vitro to native SST-14. The concentration of VEGF in the culture media was performed by means of ELISA method.

RESULTS: It was found that the exposure on SST-14 resulted in the divergent changes (increase in 4 cases and decrease in 3 cases) in VEGF concentrations in the medium. It seems that the inhibition of VEGF secretion is related to the expression of somatostatin receptor subtypes sst1 and sst2.

CONCLUSIONS: The response of VEGF secretion from pituitary tumoral cells to SST seems to depend on the spectrum of expressed somatostatin receptor subtypes. However, this presumption needs further studies on the larger material....

Read abstract  Full text PDF

Journal Article 2018; 39(4): 305-309 PubMed PMID: 30531706 Citation  Keywords:  Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Intestinal Mucosa:pathology, Intestinal Neoplasms:metabolism, Intestine, Small:pathology, Neoplasm Grading, Neoplasm Invasiveness, Neuroendocrine Tumors:metabolism, Receptors, Somatostatin:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVE: Somatostatin receptor (SSTR) expression constitutes a pivotal cornerstone for accurate radiological detection and medical treatment of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs), and the development of somatostatin analogues for these purposes have revolutionized the clinical work-up. Previous assessments of SSTR isoform expression in SI-NETs have found correlations to overall prognosis and treatment response, however these analyses usually report overall tumoral immunoreactivity, and little is reported regarding histo-regional differences in expressional patterns. METHODS: Thirty-seven primary SI-NETs (WHO grade I, n=32 and WHO grade II, n=5) were collected and assessed for SSTR2 immunohistochemistry. Samples were stratified with regards to histological level of bowel infiltration and spread (mucosal region, muscularis propria region, subserosal region) and each of these tumoral regions was separately scored by SSTR2 staining localization (membrane, cytoplasmic), overall staining intensity and local staining differences within each region. RESULTS: SSTR2 immunoreactivity was progressively weaker as the tumor cells advanced through the small intestinal layers. This was exemplified by a reduction in the amount of tumor samples with strong SSTR2 expression in the deeper histological levels of the section; 56% of tumors displayed strong SSTR2 expression in the mucosal region, as compared to 29% and 30% of tumors within muscularis propria and subserosal layers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This observation indicates a down-regulation of SSTR2 expression as the tumors progress through the intestinal wall, which might signify underlying biological processes of importance for SI-NET invasion behavior....

Read abstract  Full text PDF