Ricerc@Sapienza

Purpose Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumour of the thyroid C cells. Pasireotide, a multi-receptor targeted somatostatin analogue, and everolimus, an inhibitor of mTOR, showed antitumour properties in neuroendocrine tumours. Aim of this study was to evaluate pasireotide alone and in combination with everolimus in patients with MTC.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PanNETs) represent an uncommon type of pancreatic neoplasm, whose incidence is increasing worldwide. As per exocrine pancreatic cancer, a relationship seems to exist between PanNETs and glycaemic alterations. Diabetes mellitus (DM) or impaired glucose tolerance often occurs in PanNET patients as a consequence of hormonal hypersecretion by the tumour, specifically affecting glucose metabolism, or due to tumour mass effects.

Purpose Analyze the role of somatostatin analogues (SSAs) in the treatment of sporadic and MEN1-related gastrinomas, trying to define whether recent trials have changed the landscape of gastrinoma therapy.
Methods We evaluate the rationale of SSA use in the treatment of gastrinomas, summarize the current literature concerning the effect of SSAs on the control of Zollinger- Ellison syndrome (ZES) and gastrinomas tumor progression and discuss their role in the most recent guidelines.

Background: Although prognosis of NENs is affected by several features including tumour burden, the specific role of this factor in pancreatic NENs (PanNENs) and gastrointestinal NENs (GI NENs) is not well established. Aim: To compare the prognostic role of tumour burden in PanNENs and GI NENs. Patients and methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of stage IV PanNENs and GI NENs. Tumours were classified based on liver tumour volume (<25% or >25%). Overall survival as assessed by Kaplan-Meier curves, and Cox proportional hazards method was used to perform risk factor analysis.