A malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumour in a patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia: Genetics and Clinical Management

Early diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes is critical for optimal clinical outcomes; before the MEN syndromes can be diagnosed, they must be suspected. Genetic testing for germline alterations in both the MEN type 1 (MEN1) gene and RET proto-oncogene is crucial to identifying those at risk in affected kindreds and directing timely surveillance and surgical therapy to those at greatest risk of potentially life-threatening neoplasia. Pancreatic, thymic, and bronchial neuroendocrine tumors are the leading cause of death in patients with MEN1 and should be aggressively considered by at least biannual computed tomography imaging.

Coexistence of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) and malignant neoplasms of different origin: prognostic implications

BACKGROUND

Over the past decade, several changes occurred in diagnostics, treatment and understanding of pathogenesis of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST). However, their coexistence with other malignancies of different histogenetic origin remains a challenging issue.

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with GIST in a 10-years period were identified retrospectively and clinical history and findings thoroughly explored for the presence of associated other malignancies. Follow up data were obtained and analysed for prognostic impact of the concurrent malignancy and/or GIST.

RESULTS

Thirty seven (27 males, 10 females) of 86 GIST-patients (43%) had another malignancy. Mean age was 70 years. Associated malignancies were gastrointestinal (n = 29; 69%), renal-/urological (n = 5; 12%), haematological (n = 4; 9.5%), cutaneous (n = 3; 7%) and thyroid (n = 1; 2.5%) in origin. Majority of GISTs occurred in stomach (65%) and small intestine (30.6%) and most (78%) were asymptomatic incidental findings during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures for associated malignancies. GIST size ranged from 0.1 cm to 9 cm (mean, 2.2 cm) and all of them had a low (<5/50 HPFs) or no mitotic activity. Thirty-one tumours (84%) were of no/very low/low risk and 6 were of intermediate risk. During follow-up (range 3-160 months, mean; 60 months), one patient suffered from distant metastases of GIST. Seven patients (19%) died of associated malignancies and three patients (8%) of other non-tumour-associated cause, but none died of GIST.

CONCLUSION

Coexistence of GIST with other malignancies is higher than previously reported and should draw attention of clinicians towards these incidental findings. Prognosis in these patients is usually determined by other malignancy and not significantly influenced by GIST. Therefore treatment algorithms should be focused on prognostically relevant malignancy.

Causes of death and prognostic factors in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1: a prospective study: comparison of 106 MEN1/Zollinger-Ellison syndrome patients with 1613 literature MEN1 patients with or without pancreatic endocrine tumors

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is classically characterized by the development of functional or nonfunctional hyperplasia or tumors in endocrine tissues (parathyroid, pancreas, pituitary, adrenal). Because effective treatments have been developed for the hormone excess state, which was a major cause of death in these patients in the past, coupled with the recognition that nonendocrine tumors increasingly develop late in the disease course, the natural history of the disease has changed. An understanding of the current causes of death is important to tailor treatment for these patients and to help identify prognostic factors; however, it is generally lacking.To add to our understanding, we conducted a detailed analysis of the causes of death and prognostic factors from a prospective long-term National Institutes of Health (NIH) study of 106 MEN1 patients with pancreatic endocrine tumors with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (MEN1/ZES patients) and compared our results to those from the pooled literature data of 227 patients with MEN1 with pancreatic endocrine tumors (MEN1/PET patients) reported in case reports or small series, and to 1386 patients reported in large MEN1 literature series. In the NIH series over a mean follow-up of 24.5 years, 24 (23%) patients died (14 MEN1-related and 10 non-MEN1-related deaths). Comparing the causes of death with the results from the 227 patients in the pooled literature series, we found that no patients died of acute complications due to acid hypersecretion, and 8%-14% died of other hormone excess causes, which is similar to the results in 10 large MEN1 literature series published since 1995. In the 2 series (the NIH and pooled literature series), two-thirds of patients died from an MEN1-related cause and one-third from a non-MEN1-related cause, which agrees with the mean values reported in 10 large MEN1 series in the literature, although in the literature the causes of death varied widely. In the NIH and pooled literature series, the main causes of MEN1-related deaths were due to the malignant nature of the PETs, followed by the malignant nature of thymic carcinoid tumors. These results differ from the results of a number of the literature series, especially those reported before the 1990s. The causes of non-MEN1-related death for the 2 series, in decreasing frequency, were cardiovascular disease, other nonendocrine tumors > lung diseases, cerebrovascular diseases. The most frequent non-MEN1-related tumor deaths were colorectal, renal > lung > breast, oropharyngeal. Although both overall and disease-related survival are better than in the past (30-yr survival of NIH series: 82% overall, 88% disease-related), the mean age at death was 55 years, which is younger than expected for the general population.Detailed analysis of causes of death correlated with clinical, laboratory, and tumor characteristics of patients in the 2 series allowed identification of a number of prognostic factors. Poor prognostic factors included higher fasting gastrin levels, presence of other functional hormonal syndromes, need for >3 parathyroidectomies, presence of liver metastases or distant metastases, aggressive PET growth, large PETs, or the development of new lesions.The results of this study have helped define the causes of death of MEN1 patients at present, and have enabled us to identify a number of prognostic factors that should be helpful in tailoring treatment for these patients for both short- and long-term management, as well as in directing research efforts to better define the natural history of the disease and the most important factors determining long-term survival at present.

Adrenal involvement in MEN1. Analysis of 715 cases from the Groupe d'etude des Tumeurs Endocrines database

OBJECTIVE

Limited data regarding adrenal involvement in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is available. We describe the characteristics of MEN1-associated adrenal lesions in a large cohort to provide a rationale for their management.

METHODS

Analysis of records from 715 MEN1 patients from a multicentre database between 1956 and 2008. Adrenal lesions were compared with those from a multicentre cohort of 144 patients with adrenal sporadic incidentalomas.

RESULTS

Adrenal enlargement was reported in 20.4% (146/715) of patients. Adrenal tumours (>10 mm in size) accounted for 58.1% of these cases (10.1% of the whole patient cohort). Tumours were bilateral and >40 mm in size in 12.5 and 19.4% of cases respectively. Hormonal hypersecretion was restricted to patients with tumours and occurred in 15.3% of them. Compared with incidentalomas, MEN1-related tumours exhibited more cases of primary hyperaldosteronism, fewer pheochromocytomas and more adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs; 13.8 vs 1.3%). Ten ACCs occurred in eight patients. Interestingly, ACCs occurred after several years of follow-up of small adrenal tumours in two of the eight affected patients. Nine of the ten ACCs were classified as stage I or II according to the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors. No evident genotype/phenotype correlation was found for the occurrence of adrenal lesions, endocrine hypersecretion or ACC.

CONCLUSIONS

Adrenal pathology in MEN1 differs from that observed in sporadic incidentalomas. In the absence of relevant symptoms, endocrine biology can be restricted to patients with adrenal tumours and should focus on steroid secretion including the aldosterone-renin system. MEN1 is a high-risk condition for the occurrence of ACCs. It should be considered regardless of the size of the tumour.

[Hereditary and non-hereditary syndromic gastointestinal stromal tumours]

The majority of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) present as solitary gastrointestinal masses in adults aged 50-70 years. A small subset of GISTs (≤5%) occurs in the setting of familial or idiopathic multitumour syndrome. In decreasing order of frequency, neurofibromatosis Recklinghausen (NF-1), Carney triad (gastric GIST, pulmonary chondroma and extra-adrenal paraganglioma), familial GIST syndromes resulting from germline mutations in c-Kit/PDGFRA and the Carney-Stratakis syndrome (hereditary GIST paraganglioma syndrome caused by germline mutations in the mitochondrial tumour suppressor gene pathway involving the succinate dehydrogenase subunits SDHD, SDHC and SDHB) represent the four most important GIST syndromes characterized to date. Since affected patients and their family members require special treatment and/or counseling and follow-up, early diagnosis and precise classification of this likely still underdiagnosed diseases is of the utmost importance. This review summarizes the pertinent clinicopathological and molecular features of the main GIST syndromes to facilitate their diagnosis and distinction from their non-syndromic mimics.

Jejunal GIST with extramural hemangiomatous component presenting as an obscure lower GI bleed: a case report

GISTS (Gastrointestinal stromal tumours) are malignant form of sarcoma of the digestive tract. Various unusual presentations and morphological variants of GIST have been described, including extramural components of GIST. The literature has no reference regarding an extramural hemangiomatous component of a GIST. Here we present a case of 54-year-old women with this unusual morphological condition presenting as an obscure lower GI bleed. Diagnosis in this case was made by subjecting the resected specimen to immunohistochemical analysis.

Coexistence of gastrointestinal stromal tumors with other neoplasms

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of other neoplasms in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and to compare clinical and histopathological data in patients with a GIST and accompanying neoplasms and in patients with GIST only.

METHODS

The analysis encompassed 82 patients with a GIST from among 330 300 patients whose surgical specimens, biopsies, and autopsies were evaluated between January 1989 and June 2006. A subgroup of patients with other types of neoplasms was selected.

RESULTS

Other neoplasms in patients with a GIST were diagnosed in 22 of the 82 (26.8%) patients. The most common accompanying neoplasms were colorectal (nine cases) and gastric (four cases) adenocarcinoma, as well as pancreatic adenocarcinoma (three cases). There was a tendency toward more common localization of a GIST in the small intestine in patients with other neoplasms than in patients with a GIST alone (P < 0.09). Tumors with very low risk of aggressive behavior were more frequent in patients with a GIST accompanied by other neoplasms than in the other group (P < 0.05). No phenotypic differences in GIST cells were found between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In almost 27% of the study population, GISTs coexisted with other neoplasms. A greater proportion of patients with a GIST localized in the small intestine and/or characterized by a very low risk of aggressive behavior and accompanying other neoplasms, compared with a GIST alone, most likely reflects the fact that in the first group, GISTs tended to be an incidental finding during surgery. The results were affected by patient selection and the type of tissue material available.

Occurrence of other malignancies in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Almost one-third of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are discovered incidentally during investigative or therapeutic procedures for unrelated diseases. In this regard, GISTs may coexist with different types of cancer, either synchronously or metachronously. The frequency of this association and the spectrum of neoplasms involved have not been sufficiently analyzed. We conducted a review of the literature and our own records for cases with sporadic GISTs and other malignancies, with emphasis on solid tumors. Neurofibromatosis 1 and Carney triad-associated tumors were excluded. Based on these data, there were 518 cancers in 486 GIST patients among 4813 cases with informative data. The overall frequency of second tumors in different series varied from 4.5% to 33% (mean, 13%). A total of 29 patients had multiple malignancies. GISTs of gastric location were most commonly involved with other neoplasms, reflecting their overall high frequency (60%) of all GISTs. The major types of GIST-associated cancers were gastrointestinal carcinomas (n=228; 47%), lymphoma/leukemia, (n=36; 7%), and carcinomas of prostate (n=43; 9%), breast (n=34; 7%), kidney (n=27; 6%), lung (n=26; 5%), female genital tract (n=25; 5%), and carcinoid tumors (n=13; 3%). Other cancers included soft tissue and bone sarcomas (n=15; 3%), malignant melanoma (n=12; 2%), and seminoma (n=6; 1%). Occurrence of collision tumors and metastases of carcinoma or sarcoma into a GIST (the latter noted in 4 cases) can be challenging diagnostic problems. The potential nonrandom association and causal relationship between GIST and other neoplasms remain to be investigated.

Serum gastrin in Zollinger-Ellison syndrome: I. Prospective study of fasting serum gastrin in 309 patients from the National Institutes of Health and comparison with 2229 cases from the literature

The assessment of fasting serum gastrin (FSG) is essential for the diagnosis and management of patients with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES). Although many studies have analyzed FSG levels in patients with gastrinoma, limited information has resulted from these studies because of their small size, different methodologies, and lack of correlations of FSG levels with clinical, laboratory, or tumor features in ZES patients. To address this issue, we report the results of a prospective National Institutes of Health (NIH) study of 309 patients with ZES and compare our results with those of 2229 ZES patients in 513 small series and case reports in the literature. In the NIH and literature ZES patients, normal FSG values were uncommon (0.3%-3%), as were very high FSG levels >100-fold normal (4.9%-9%). Two-thirds of gastrinoma patients had FSG values <10-fold normal that overlap with gastrin levels seen in more common conditions, like Helicobacter pylori infection or antral G-cell hyperplasia/hyperfunction. In these patients, FSG levels are not diagnostic of ZES, and gastrin provocative tests are needed to establish the diagnosis. Most clinical variables (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 status, presence or absence of the most common symptoms, prior medical treatment) are not correlated with FSG levels, while a good correlation of FSG values was found with other clinical features (prior gastric surgery, diarrhea, duration from onset to diagnosis). Increasing basal acid output, but not maximal acid output correlated closely with increasing FSG. Numerous tumoral features correlated with the magnitude of FSG in our study, including tumor location (pancreatic > duodenal), primary size (larger > smaller) and extent (liver metastases > local disease). In conclusion, this detailed analysis of FSG in a large number of patients with ZES allowed us to identify important clinical guidelines that should contribute to improved diagnosis and management of patients with ZES.

Multiple gastric stromal tumors in a child without syndromic association lacks common KIT or PDGFRalpha mutations

A diagnosis of multiple gastric stromal tumors that were nonmetastatic at presentation was made in an 11-year-old girl who presented with hematemesis. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a rare diagnosis in childhood and reported multiple lesions are generally seen in the context of familial disease, occasionally with syndromic associations. Although there are no reports of genetic mutation in cases of pediatric GIST, very many cases of multiple GISTs investigated on a molecular level have shown germline KIT or platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha mutation; these were familial cases. Despite the negative family history in our patient, the multiplicity of lesions in such a young patient raised concern for a genetic predisposition and prompted extensive molecular workup. Repeat evaluation of distinct aliquots of tumor tissue by polymerase chain amplification followed by sequence analysis of selected coding sequences of KIT and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha previously shown to harbor mutations in GIST, yielded no evidence of even a somatic mutation. This clinically unique case is discussed in the context of a literature review.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome: a prospective study of 107 cases and comparison with 1009 cases from the literature

In patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), the most common functional pancreatic endocrine tumor (PET) syndrome is Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES). ZES has been well studied in its sporadic form (that is, without MEN1); however, there are limited data on patients with MEN1 and ZES (MEN1/ZES), and the long-term natural history is largely unknown. To address this issue we report the results of a prospective long-term National Institutes of Health (NIH) study of 107 MEN1/ZES patients and compare our results with those of 1009 MEN1/ZES patients in 278 case reports and small series in the literature. Patients were clinically, radiologically, and biochemically evaluated yearly for all MEN1 manifestations (mean follow-up, 10 yr; range, 0.1-31 yr). Compared with patients from the literature, the NIH MEN1/ZES patients more frequently had pituitary (60%) and adrenal (45%) disease and carcinoid tumors (30%), but had equal frequency of hyperparathyroidism (94%), thyroid disease (6%), or lipomas (5%). Twenty-five percent of both the NIH and the literature patients lacked a family history of MEN1; ZES was the initial clinical manifestation of MEN1 in 40%. ZES onset preceded the diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism in 45%. However, ZES was rarely (8%) the only initial manifestation of MEN1 if careful testing was done. ZES occurred before age 40 years in 50%-60% of the current patients, in contrast to older studies. The diagnosis of ZES is delayed 3-5 years from its onset and is delayed as long as in sporadic ZES cases. Pituitary disease and carcinoid tumors (gastric > bronchial, thymic) are more frequent than generally reported, whereas a second functional PET is uncommon. In patients with MEN1/ZES without a family history of MEN1, the MEN1 manifestations are not as severe. This study shows that MEN1/ZES patients differ in many aspects from those commonly reported in older studies involving few MEN1/ZES patients. In this study we have identified a number of important clinical and laboratory features of MEN1/ZES that were not previously appreciated, which should contribute to earlier diagnosis and improve both short- and long-term management.

Frequent occurrence of an intron 4 mutation in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1

MEN1 is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by parathyroid, pituitary, and pancreatic tumors. The MEN1 gene is located on chromosome 11q13 and encodes a 610-amino acid protein. MEN1 mutations are of diverse types and are scattered throughout the coding region, such that almost every MEN1 family will have its individual mutation. To further characterize such mutations we ascertained 34 unrelated MEN1 probands and undertook DNA sequence analysis. This identified 17 different mutations in 24 probands (2 nonsense, 2 missense, 2 in-frame deletions, 5 frameshift deletions, 1 frameshift deletional-insertion, 3 frameshift insertions, 1 donor splice site mutation, and a g-->a transition that resulted in a novel acceptor splice site in intron 4). The intron 4 mutation was found in 7 unrelated families, and the tumors in these families varied considerably, indicating a lack of genotype-phenotype correlation. However, this intron 4 mutation is the most frequently occurring germline MEN1 mutation ( approximately 10% of all mutations), and together with 5 others at codons 83-84, 118-119, 209-211, 418, and 516, accounts for 36.6% of all mutations, a finding that indicates an approach for identifying the widely diverse MEN1 mutations.