Introduction: Forensic Fail

Background: About 60% of Pheochromocytoma (PCC) and Paraganglioma (PGL) patients have either germline or somatic mutations in one of the 12 proposed disease causing genes; SDHA, SDHB, SDHC, SDHD, SDHAF2, VHL, EPAS1, RET, NF1, TMEM127, MAX and H-RAS. Selective screening for germline mutations is routinely performed in clinical management of these diseases. Testing for somatic alterations is not performed on a regular basis because of limitations in interpreting the results. Aim: The purpose of the study was to investigate genetic events and phenotype correlations in a large cohort of PCC and PGL tumours. Methods: A total of 101 tumours from 89 patients with PCC and PGL were re-sequenced for a panel of 10 disease causing genes using automated Sanger sequencing. Selected samples were analysed with Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification and/or SNParray. Results: Pathogenic genetic variants were found in tumours from 33 individual patients (37%), 14 (16%) were discovered in constitutional DNA and 16 (18%) were confirmed as somatic. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was observed in 1/1 SDHB, 11/11 VHL and 3/3 NF1-associated tumours. In patients with somatic mutations there were no recurrences in contrast to carriers of germline mutations (P = 0.022). SDHx/VHL/ EPAS1 associated cases had higher norepinephrine output (P = 0.03) and lower epinephrine output (P<0.001) compared to RET/NF1/H-RAS cases. Conclusion: Somatic mutations are frequent events in PCC and PGL tumours. Tumour genotype may be further investigated as prognostic factors in these diseases. Growing evidence suggest that analysis of tumour DNA could have an impact on the management of these patients

Risk of complications after core needle biopsy in pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma

Core needle biopsy (CNB) has been used with caution in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) due to concerns about catecholamine-related complications. While it is unclear what scientific evidence supports this claim, it has limited the acquisition of biological samples for diagnostic purposes and research, especially in metastatic PPGL. We performed a systematic review and individual patient meta-analysis to evaluate the risk of complications after CNB in PPGL patients. The primary and secondary objectives were to investigate the risk of death and the occurrence of complications requiring intervention or hospitalization, respectively. Fifty-six articles describing 86 PPGL patients undergoing CNB were included. Of the patients (24/71), 34% had metastases and 53.4% (31/58) had catecholamine-related symptoms before CNB. Of the patients (14/41), 34.1% had catecholamine excess testing prior to the biopsy. No CNB-related deaths were reported. Four patients (14.8%, 4/27) experienced CNB-related complications requiring hospitalization or intervention. One case had a temporary duodenal obstruction caused by hematoma, two cases had myocardial infarction, and one case had Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Eight patients (32%, 8/25) had CNB-related catecholamine symptoms, mainly transient hypertension, excessive diaphoresis, tachycardia, or hypertensive crisis. The scientific literature does not allow us to make any firm conclusion on the safety of CNB in PPGL. However, it is reasonable to argue that CNB could be conducted after thorough consideration, preparation, and with close follow-up for PPGL patients with a strong clinical indication for such investigation

Потребительский экстремизм как правовое явление

Материалы XIII Междунар. науч. конф. студентов, магистрантов, аспирантов и молодых ученых, Гомель, 21–22 мая 2020 г

Charting the Genetic Landscape and Clonal Architectures of Pheochromocytoma

Genotypic and phenotypic inter patient heterogeneity characterize pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). Up to 60% of PPGL are associated with either somatic or germline mutations in at least 14 established disease causing genes. Consequently, a comprehensive screening test for PPGL patients utilizing standard techniques is not feasible and in the diagnostic approach, multiple different phenotype guided gene prioritization protocols have been utilized. This may result in misdiagnosis, especially in patients with sporadic presentation. Diagnostic testing of somatic mutations in tumour material is not performed due to the lack of actionable results. The aims of this study were, (1) to investigate the use of novel sequencing techniques in a clinical application, (2) to discover novel PPGL disease causing loci using novel sequencing techniques, (3) to characterize a large cohort of PPGL for mutations in known disease causing genes and to analyse corresponding genotype-phenotype correlations, (4) to dissect the molecular and genetic landscape of MEN2 PPGL and (5) to determine the clonal architecture and heterogeneity within, and in-between matched PPGL. For these purposes we studied PPGL tumours from a total of 96 patients using targeted and/or whole exome enrichment, capillary and high throughput sequencing as well as genome wide array based genotyping. Novel bioinformatics pipelines were constructed for raw data processing and downstream interpretation. Quantitative PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry were utilized in order to characterize molecular traits. Selected experimental findings were correlated to patient phenotype. We conclude that novel sequencing techniques could be utilized in clinical genetic screening of patients with PPGL. Somatic gain-of-function mutations in H-RAS are likely to contribute to disease pathogenesis. Analysing tumour DNA for somatic mutations in disease causing genes could provide relevant clinical information and have an impact on patient management. Concomitant mutations in PPGL may occur in exceptional cases and have a substantial impact on tumour biology and patient phenotype. And finally genetic heterogeneity is present between and within a majority of PPGL tumours

Charting the Genetic Landscape and Clonal Architectures of Pheochromocytoma

Genotypic and phenotypic inter patient heterogeneity characterize pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). Up to 60% of PPGL are associated with either somatic or germline mutations in at least 14 established disease causing genes. Consequently, a comprehensive screening test for PPGL patients utilizing standard techniques is not feasible and in the diagnostic approach, multiple different phenotype guided gene prioritization protocols have been utilized. This may result in misdiagnosis, especially in patients with sporadic presentation. Diagnostic testing of somatic mutations in tumour material is not performed due to the lack of actionable results. The aims of this study were, (1) to investigate the use of novel sequencing techniques in a clinical application, (2) to discover novel PPGL disease causing loci using novel sequencing techniques, (3) to characterize a large cohort of PPGL for mutations in known disease causing genes and to analyse corresponding genotype-phenotype correlations, (4) to dissect the molecular and genetic landscape of MEN2 PPGL and (5) to determine the clonal architecture and heterogeneity within, and in-between matched PPGL. For these purposes we studied PPGL tumours from a total of 96 patients using targeted and/or whole exome enrichment, capillary and high throughput sequencing as well as genome wide array based genotyping. Novel bioinformatics pipelines were constructed for raw data processing and downstream interpretation. Quantitative PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry were utilized in order to characterize molecular traits. Selected experimental findings were correlated to patient phenotype. We conclude that novel sequencing techniques could be utilized in clinical genetic screening of patients with PPGL. Somatic gain-of-function mutations in H-RAS are likely to contribute to disease pathogenesis. Analysing tumour DNA for somatic mutations in disease causing genes could provide relevant clinical information and have an impact on patient management. Concomitant mutations in PPGL may occur in exceptional cases and have a substantial impact on tumour biology and patient phenotype. And finally genetic heterogeneity is present between and within a majority of PPGL tumours

Charting the Genetic Landscape and Clonal Architectures of Pheochromocytoma

Genotypic and phenotypic inter patient heterogeneity characterize pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). Up to 60% of PPGL are associated with either somatic or germline mutations in at least 14 established disease causing genes. Consequently, a comprehensive screening test for PPGL patients utilizing standard techniques is not feasible and in the diagnostic approach, multiple different phenotype guided gene prioritization protocols have been utilized. This may result in misdiagnosis, especially in patients with sporadic presentation. Diagnostic testing of somatic mutations in tumour material is not performed due to the lack of actionable results. The aims of this study were, (1) to investigate the use of novel sequencing techniques in a clinical application, (2) to discover novel PPGL disease causing loci using novel sequencing techniques, (3) to characterize a large cohort of PPGL for mutations in known disease causing genes and to analyse corresponding genotype-phenotype correlations, (4) to dissect the molecular and genetic landscape of MEN2 PPGL and (5) to determine the clonal architecture and heterogeneity within, and in-between matched PPGL. For these purposes we studied PPGL tumours from a total of 96 patients using targeted and/or whole exome enrichment, capillary and high throughput sequencing as well as genome wide array based genotyping. Novel bioinformatics pipelines were constructed for raw data processing and downstream interpretation. Quantitative PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry were utilized in order to characterize molecular traits. Selected experimental findings were correlated to patient phenotype. We conclude that novel sequencing techniques could be utilized in clinical genetic screening of patients with PPGL. Somatic gain-of-function mutations in H-RAS are likely to contribute to disease pathogenesis. Analysing tumour DNA for somatic mutations in disease causing genes could provide relevant clinical information and have an impact on patient management. Concomitant mutations in PPGL may occur in exceptional cases and have a substantial impact on tumour biology and patient phenotype. And finally genetic heterogeneity is present between and within a majority of PPGL tumours

Adrenocortical carcinoma - towards genomics guided clinical care

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is an aggressive and rare neoplasm that originates in the cortex of the adrenal gland. The disease is associated with heterogeneous but mostly poor outcomes and lacks effective pharmaceutical treatment options. Multi-omics studies have defined the landscape of molecular alterations in ACC. Specific molecular signatures can be detected in body fluids, potentially enabling improved diagnostic applications for patients with adrenal tumours. Importantly, pan-molecular data sets further reveal a spectrum within ACC, with three major subgroups that have different disease outcomes. These new subgroups have value as prognostic biomarkers. Research has revealed that the p53-RB and the WNT-β-catenin pathways are common disease drivers in ACC. However, these pathways remain difficult to target by therapeutic interventions. Instead, a unique characteristic of ACC is steroidogenic differentiation, which has emerged as a potential treatment target, with several agents undergoing preclinical or clinical investigations. Finally, a large proportion of ACC tumours have genetic profiles that are associated with promising therapeutic responsiveness in other cancers. All these opportunities now await translation from the laboratory into the clinical setting, thereby offering a real potential of improved survival outcomes and increased quality of life for patients with this serious condition

Systemic Treatment of Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Carcinoma

Opinion statement Treatment recommendations for advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas (GEP-NEC) are based on uncontrolled, mainly retrospective data. Chemotherapy can offer palliative relief, but long-lasting complete responses or cures are rare. The European Neuroendocrine Tumour Society (ENETS) and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) recommend platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line treatment. This has been the golden standard since the late 1980s and has been evaluated in mostly retrospective clinical studies. However, progression is inevitable for most patients. Unfortunately, data on effective second-line treatment options are scant, and ENETS and ESMO recommendations propose fluorouracil- or temozolomide-based chemotherapy schedules. As such, there is a huge unmet need for improved care. Improved knowledge on GEP-NEC biology may provide a pathway towards more effective interventions including chemotherapy, targeted gene therapy, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, as well as immune checkpoint inhibitors. The review summarises this current state of the art as well as the most promising developments for systemic therapy in GEP-NEC patients

Advances in adrenal tumors 2018

This review aims to provide clinicians and researchers with a condensed update on the most important studies in the field during 2017. We present the academic output measured by active clinical trials and peer-reviewed published manuscripts. The most important and contributory manuscripts were summarized for each diagnostic entity, with a particular focus on manuscripts that describe translational research that have the potential to improve clinical care. Finally, we highlight the importance of collaborations in adrenal tumor research, which allowed for these recent advances and provide structures for future success in this scientific field