Cushing syndrome secondary to ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone secretion from a Meckel diverticulum neuroendocrine tumor: case report

A Case of Cushing's Syndrome from Well-Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Small Bowel and Its Mesentery

Adrenocorticotropic (ACTH)-producing neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are rarely found in the small bowel, and primary mesenteric NETs have only been reported in a few cases globally. We report the case of a 68-year-old female with ectopic Cushing's syndrome due to excessive ACTH secretion from small bowel primary lesions and mesenteric metastasis. Initially, only the mesenteric mass was detected on imaging and endoscopy/colonoscopy, and it was only with surgical exploration that the small bowel lesions were found. This highlights the importance of high clinical suspicion and robust investigation when locating NETs. Surgical resection of the affected small bowel and mesentery was the definitive treatment for this patient. Initial hydrocortisone replacement therapy was needed, and subsequent biochemical tests and clinical reviews demonstrated no recurrence.

A Rapidly Progressive Case of Ectopic Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) Syndrome

Patient: Female, 74-year-old

Final Diagnosis: ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome • ectopic ACTH syndrome

Symptoms: Edema • general fatigue • recurrent mechanical fall

Medication: —

Clinical Procedure: —

Specialty: Critical Care Medicine • Endocrinology and Metabolic • Family Medicine • General and Internal Medicine • Nephrology • Oncology

Paraneoplastic Cushing Syndrome in Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumour

Ectopic production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) is relatively uncommon. We report a rare case of a liver metastatic G1 low-grade NET of the intestine that induced hypercortisolism after surgical resection. A 50-year-old man was admitted for an intestinal obstruction caused by a tumour of the intestine. Paraneoplastic Cushing syndrome was diagnosed more than a year later following the appearance of cushingoid symptoms, despite stable disease according to RECIST criteria but chromogranin A increase. Ketoconazole and sandostatin medical treatment and liver chemoembolization never managed to control the hypercortisolism unlike the bilateral adrenalectomy. The identification and effective management of this uncommon statement of ectopic ACTH secretion is important to improve the patient's prognosis and quality of life.

Recurrence of Ectopic Cushing’s Syndrome 10 Years After Bilateral Adrenalectomy

Ectopic Cushing’s syndrome is a severe form of Cushing disease. Treatment usually involves the resection of the adrenocorticotropic hormone producing tumor. In certain cases, bilateral adrenalectomy is carried out as a final resort in treatment. We present a patient who had a lung carcinoid tumor, which was producing adrenocorticotropic hormone and causing ectopic Cushing’s syndrome. Lung wedge resection failed to normalize cortisol level, and he had bilateral adrenalectomy. Ten years later, he had a recurrence of Cushing’s disease due to lymph node metastasis of his carcinoid tumor.

Analysis of the intricate effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols on inflammatory pathways in health and disease

Prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, arthritis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and various infectious diseases; lately most notably COVID-19 have been in the front line of research worldwide. Although targeting different organs, these pathologies have common biochemical impairments - redox disparity and, prominently, dysregulation of the inflammatory pathways. Research data have shown that diet components like polyphenols, poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fibres as well as lifestyle (fasting, physical exercise) are important factors influencing signalling pathways with a significant potential to improve metabolic homeostasis and immune cells' functions. In the present manuscript we have reviewed scientific data from recent publications regarding the beneficial cellular and molecular effects induced by dietary plant products, mainly polyphenolic compounds and PUFAs, and summarize the clinical outcomes expected from these types of interventions, in a search for effective long-term approaches to improve the immune system response.

Somatostatinoma: Beyond neurofibromatosis type 1 (Review)

Somatostatinoma is a tumour mainly originating from pancreas or duodenum; overall with an incidence of 1/40 million persons. We introduce a narrative review of literature of somatostatinoma including the relationship with neurofibromatosis type 1. Clinical presentation includes: Diabetes mellitus, cholelithiasis, steatorrhea, abdominal pain, and obstructive jaundice while papillary tumour may cause acute pancreatitis. The neoplasia may develop completely asymptomatic or it is detected as an incidental finding during an imaging or a surgical procedure. It may be sporadic or associated to genetic backgrounds especially for duodenal localisation as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1 gene with malfunction of RAS/MAPK pathway) or Pacak-Zhuang syndrome (EPAS1 gene encoding HIF). Surgery represents the central approach if feasible but the prognostic depends on location, and grading as indicated by WHO 2017 classification of neuroendocrine tumours. Previously known as Von Recklinghausen disease, neurofibromatosis type 1, the most frequent neurocutaneous syndrome, is an autosomal dominant disorder including: Café-au-lait spot, skin fold freckling on flexural zones, and neurofibromas as well as tumours such as gliomas of optic nerve, gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs), iris hamartomas and brain tumours. Duodenal somatostatinoma is associated with the syndrome which actually involves more often a duodenal tumour of GIST type than a somatostatin secreting neoplasia. Other neuroendocrine tumours are reported: Gastrointestinal NENs at the level of rectum or jejunum and pheocromocytoma. Overall, one quarter of subjects have gastrointestinal tumours of different types. Somatostatinoma, when not located on pancreas but in duodenoum, may be registered in subjects with neurofibromatosis type 1 most probably in addition to other tumours. Overall, this type of neuroendocrine tumour with a challenging presentation has a poor prognosis unless adequate radical surgery is promptly offered to the patient.

Heat-Damaged Red Blood Cell Scintigraphy in Helping Interpretation of 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT

Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT was performed to determine the cause of endogenous Cushing syndrome in a 10-year-old boy whose MRI studies did not reveal pituitary or adrenal gland abnormality. The PET/CT images demonstrated an intense activity in a small soft tissue nodule in the left upper abdomen where splenules are commonly located. Heat-damaged Tc-labeled red blood cell imaging showed that this soft tissue nodule did not have increased red blood cell activity, which indicated that this lesion was a true somatostatin receptor-rich lesion. The pathology result following surgical resection of the lesion confirmed adrenocorticotropic hormone-producing neuroendocrine tumor.

Malignancy and Meckel's diverticulum: A systematic literature review and 14-year experience at a tertiary referral center

BACKGROUND

Meckel's diverticulum is present in about 2% of the population. The literature reports 3.2% incidence of tumors within Meckel's diverticulum; the tumors are predominantly benign.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate malignant tumors in Meckel's diverticulum through systematic review of the literature and review of electronic medical records including pathology reports over 14 years at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA.

RESULTS

A literature review over the last 10 years identified 37 citations with 402 patients (median age: 58 years; 68.9% males). The predominant malignancy reported was neuroendocrine tumor 84.6%, followed by gastrointestinal stromal tumor 8.2%, and adenocarcinoma 6%. At the time of diagnosis, 29.5% of patients had metastases. In the Mayo Clinic electronic medical records review, there were 19 patients (5.1% of them surgically removed Meckel's diverticulum) who had a malignancy associated with Meckel's diverticulum: 63.2% neuroendocrine tumor, 10.5% gastrointestinal stromal tumor, 5.3% adenocarcinoma, 5.3% pancreatic epithelial neoplasia, and 15.8% metastases from secondary location. Median size of the malignancy was 7 mm, and 17/19 malignancies were coincidental findings. Most neuroendocrine tumors infiltrated the submucosa, while gastrointestinal stromal tumor and adenocarcinoma invaded the serosa. At the time of diagnosis, 33.3% of patients had metastases.

CONCLUSION

About 5% of Meckel's diverticulums resected were associated with malignant tumors, most commonly neuroendocrine tumor, and a significant portion of Meckel's diverticulum malignancy was metastatic at the time of discovery.