Quality of life impairment after a diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome

Evaluation of muscle mass and intramuscular fatty infiltration in dogs with hypercortisolism and their association with prognosis

BACKGROUND

Muscle atrophy and intramuscular fatty infiltration, as well as their association with prognosis, have not been quantified in dogs with spontaneous hypercortisolism (HC).

OBJECTIVE

To quantitatively evaluate muscle atrophy and IM fatty infiltration in dogs with HC and determine their prognostic impact.

ANIMALS

Fifty-three dogs with HC and 66 control dogs without HC.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study. Medical records and computed tomography images obtained between 2014 and 2021 were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to analyze the effect of muscle atrophy and IM fatty infiltration on the prognosis of dogs with HC.

RESULTS

Dogs with HC showed lower visually measured cross-sectional area (VCSA) and cross-sectional area based on attenuation (HCSA) than control dogs (median [interquartile range {IQR}]: 50.3 mm2/mm [36.2-67.8] vs 66.7 mm2/mm [48.0-85.9]; P < .001; 30.4 mm2/mm [13.7-57.2] vs 54.8 mm2/mm [39.7-71.5]; P < .001, respectively). Dogs with HC had lower epaxial muscle attenuation (L3HU) than control dogs (median [IQR]: 21.2 Hounsfield [HU] [12.4-28.2] vs 33.2 HU [22.6-43.6]; P < .001). Dogs with HC with lower HCSA or L3HU had shorter survival (median [IQR]: 670 days [222-673] vs 949 days [788-1074], P < .01; 523 days [132-670] vs 949 days [756-1074], P < .01, respectively) but not lower VCSA (median [IQR]: 673 days [132-788] vs 949 days [523 to not applicable]; P = .30).

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE

Hypercortisolism in dogs causes muscle atrophy and IM fatty infiltration and is associated with poor prognosis.

Different patient versus provider perspectives on living with Cushing's disease

CONTEXT

Patients with Cushing's disease (CD) face challenges living with and receiving appropriate care for this rare, chronic condition. Even with successful treatment, many patients experience ongoing symptoms and impaired quality of life (QoL). Different perspectives and expectations between patients and healthcare providers (HCPs) may also impair well-being.

OBJECTIVE

To examine differences in perspectives on living with CD between patients and HCPs, and to compare care goals and unmet needs.

DESIGN

Memorial Sloan Kettering Pituitary Center established an annual pituitary symposium for pituitary patients and HCPs. Through anonymous pre-program surveys distributed at the 2020 and 2022 symposia, patients and HCPs answered questions related to their own sense, or perception of their patients' sense, of hope, choice, and loneliness in the context of living with CD.

PARTICIPANTS

From 655 participants over two educational events, 46 patients with CD and 116 HCPs were included. Median age of both groups was 51 years. 78.3% of the patients were female vs. 53.0% of the HCPs.

RESULTS

More patients than HCPs reported they had no choices in their treatment (21.7% vs. 0.9%, P < 0.001). More patients reported feeling alone living with CD than HCPs' perception of such (60.9% vs. 45.5%, P = 0.08). The most common personal care goal concern for patients was 'QoL/mental health,' vs. 'medical therapies/tumor control' for HCPs. The most common CD unmet need reported by patients was 'education/awareness' vs. 'medical therapies/tumor control' for HCPs.

CONCLUSIONS

CD patients experience long term symptoms and impaired QoL which may in part be due to a perception of lack of effective treatment options and little hope for improvement. Communicating experiences and care goals may improve long term outcomes for CD patients.

Long-Term Consequences of Cushing Syndrome: A Systematic Literature Review

It is held that the condition of endogenous chronic hypersecretion of cortisol (Cushing syndrome, CS), causes several comorbidities, including cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, musculoskeletal alterations, as well as cognitive and mood impairment. Therefore, CS has an adverse impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of affected patients. What remains unclear is whether disease remission may induce a normalization of the associated comorbid conditions. In order to retrieve updated information on this issue, we conducted a systematic search using the Pubmed and Embase databases to identify scientific papers published from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2022. The initial search identified 1907 potentially eligible records. Papers were screened for eligibility and a total of 79 were included and classified by the main topic (cardiometabolic risk, thromboembolic disease, bone impairment, muscle damage, mood disturbances and quality of life, cognitive impairment, and mortality). Although the limited patient numbers in many studies preclude definitive conclusions, most recent evidence supports the persistence of increased morbidity and mortality even after long-term remission. It is conceivable that the degree of normalization of the associated comorbid conditions depends on individual factors and characteristics of the conditions. These findings highlight the need for early recognition and effective management of patients with CS, which should include active treatment of the related comorbid conditions. In addition, it is important to maintain a surveillance strategy in all patients with CS, even many years after disease remission, and to actively pursue specific treatment of comorbid conditions beyond cortisol normalization.

Cushing's Disease: Long-Term Effectiveness and Safety of Osilodrostat in a Polish Group of Patients with Persistent Hypercortisolemia in the Experience of a Single Center

Osilodrostat is a potent oral steroidogenesis inhibitor that has emerged as the new medical agent for patients with Cushing's disease (CD) requiring long-term medical therapy for hypercortisolemia control. Its efficacy and safety have been assessed in clinical trials; however, real-world evidence is still scarce. This study aimed to investigate the long-term treatment (156 weeks) clinical and biochemical effect of osilodrostat in six patients with CD at a single center in Poland, initially participating in the LINC4 study. At week 36, all six patients met the key secondary endpoint of the LINC4 trial, achieving normalization of median urinary free cortisol. Osilodrostat treatment allowed for complete disease control in all patients and none of the patients was excluded due to the lack of treatment effectiveness in 156 weeks of follow-up. All patients demonstrated significant improvement from baseline on most metabolic and cardiovascular parameters, which was most evident at week 36 and sustained throughout the study period. This study supports and strengthens the role of osilodrostat as an effective long-term medical treatment in patients with CD. We also present three patient case histories in detail to highlight the clinical situations that endocrinologists might face during osilodrostat therapy.

An individualized approach to the management of Cushing disease

Cushing disease caused by an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary corticotroph adenoma leads to hypercortisolaemia with high mortality due to metabolic, cardiovascular, immunological, neurocognitive, haematological and infectious conditions. The disorder is challenging to diagnose because of its common and heterogenous presenting features and the biochemical pitfalls of testing levels of hormones in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Several late-night salivary cortisol and 24-h urinary free cortisol tests are usually required as well as serum levels of cortisol after a dexamethasone suppression test. MRI might only identify an adenoma in 60-75% of patients and many adenomas are small. Therefore, inferior petrosal sinus sampling remains the gold standard for confirmation of ACTH secretion from a pituitary source. Initial treatment is usually transsphenoidal adenoma resection, but preoperative medical therapy is increasingly being used in some countries and regions. Other management approaches are required if Cushing disease persists or recurs following surgery, including medications to modulate ACTH or block cortisol secretion or actions, pituitary radiation, and/or bilateral adrenalectomy. All patients require lifelong surveillance for persistent comorbidities, clinical and biochemical recurrence, and treatment-related adverse effects (including development of treatment-associated hypopituitarism). In this Review, we discuss challenges in the management of Cushing disease in adults and provide information to guide clinicians when planning an integrated and individualized approach for each patient.

Advanced Adrenocortical Carcinoma: From Symptoms Control to Palliative Care

The prognosis of patients with advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is often poor: in the case of metastatic disease, five-year survival is reduced. Advanced disease is not a non-curable disease and, in referral centers, the multidisciplinary approach is the standard of care: if a shared decision regarding several treatments is available, including the correct timing for the performance of each one, overall survival is increased. However, many patients with advanced ACC experience severe psychological and physical symptoms secondary to the disease and the cancer treatments. These symptoms, combined with existential issues, debase the quality of the remaining life. Recent strong evidence from cancer research supports the early integration of palliative care principles and skills into the advanced cancer patient's trajectory, even when asymptomatic. A patient with ACC risks quickly suffering from symptoms/effects alongside the disease; therefore, early palliative care, in some cases concurrent with oncological treatment (simultaneous care), is suggested. The aims of this paper are to review current, advanced ACC approaches, highlight appropriate forms of ACC symptom management and suggest when and how palliative care can be incorporated into the ACC standard of care.

The Entity of Connshing Syndrome: Primary Aldosteronism with Autonomous Cortisol Secretion

Connshing syndrome (CoSh) (adrenal-related synchronous aldosterone (A) and cortisol (C) excess) represents a distinct entity among PA (primary hyperaldosteronisms) named by W. Arlt et al. in 2017, but the condition has been studied for more than 4 decades. Within the last few years, this is one of the most dynamic topics in hormonally active adrenal lesions due to massive advances in steroids metabolomics, molecular genetics from CYP11B1/B2 immunostaining to genes constellations, as well as newly designated pathological categories according to the 2022 WHO classification. In gross, PA causes 4-10% of all high blood pressure (HBP) cases, and 20% of resistant HBP; subclinical Cushing syndrome (SCS) is identified in one-third of adrenal incidentalomas (AI), while CoSh accounts for 20-30% to 77% of PA subjects, depending on the tests used to confirm autonomous C secretion (ACS). The clinical picture overlaps with PA, hypercortisolemia being mild. ACS is suspected in PA if a more severe glucose and cardiovascular profile is identified, or there are larger tumours, ACS being an independent factor risk for kidney damage, and probably also for depression/anxiety and osteoporotic fractures. It seems that one-third of the PA-ACS group harbours mutations of C-related lines like PRKACA and GNAS. A novel approach means we should perform CYP11B2/CYP11B1 immunostaining; sometimes negative aldosteronoma for CYP11B1 is surrounded by micronodules or cell clusters with positive CYP11B1 to sustain the C excess. Pitfalls of hormonal assessments in CoSh include the index of suspicion (check for ACS in PA patients) and the interpretation of A/C ratio during adrenal venous sample. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is the treatment of choice. Post-operative clinical remission rate is lower in CoSh than PA. The risk of clinically manifested adrenal insufficiency is low, but a synthetic ACTH stimulating testing might help to avoid unnecessary exposure to glucocorticoids therapy. Finally, postponing the choice of surgery may impair the outcome, having noted that long-term therapy with mineralocorticoids receptors antagonists might not act against excessive amounts of C. Awareness of CoSh improves management and overall prognosis.