@article{WernerSchmidHiguchietal.2018, author = {Werner, Rudolf and Schmid, Jan-Stefan and Higuchi, Takahiro and Javadi, Mehrbod S. and Rowe, Steven P. and M{\"a}rkl, Bruno and Aulmann, Christoph and Fassnacht, Martin and Kroiß, Matthias and Reiners, Christoph and Buck, Andreas and Kreissl, Michael and Lapa, Constantin}, title = {Predictive value of \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET in patients with advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma treated with vandetanib}, series = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, journal = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, issn = {0161-5505}, doi = {10.2967/jnumed.117.199778}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-161256}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Introduction: Therapeutic options in advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) have markedly improved since the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). We aimed to assess the role of metabolic imaging using 2-deoxy-2-(\(^{18}\)F)fluoro-D-glucose (\(^{18}\)F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) shortly before and 3 months after initiation of TKI treatment. Methods: Eighteen patients with advanced and progressive MTC scheduled for vandetanib treatment underwent baseline \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT prior to and 3 months after TKI treatment initiation. During follow-up, CT scans were performed every 3 months and analyzed according to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST). The predictive value for estimating progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was examined by investigating \(^{18}\)F-FDG mean/maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmean/max) of the metabolically most active lesion as well as by analyzing clinical parameters (tumor marker doubling times {calcitonin, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)}, prior therapies, RET (rearranged during transfection) mutational status, and disease type). Results: Within a median follow-up of 5.2 years, 9 patients experienced disease progression after a median time interval of 2.1y whereas the remainder had ongoing disease control (n=5 partial response and n=4 stable disease). Eight of the 9 patients with progressive disease died from MTC after a median of 3.5y after TKI initiation. Pre-therapeutic SUVmean >4.0 predicted a significantly shorter PFS (PFS: 1.9y vs. 5.2y; p=0.04). Furthermore, sustained high 18F-FDG uptake at 3 months with a SUVmean>2.8 tended to portend an unfavorable prognosis with a PFS of 1.9y (vs. 3.5y; p=0.3). Prolonged CEA doubling times were significantly correlated with longer PFS (r=0.7) and OS (r=0.76, p<0.01, respectively). None of the other clinical parameters had prognostic significance. Conclusions: Pre-therapeutic \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT holds prognostic information in patients with advanced MTC scheduled for treatment with the TKI vandetanib. Low tumor metabolism of SUVmean < 4.0 prior to treatment predicts longer progression-free survival.}, subject = {Medull{\"a}rer Schilddr{\"u}senkrebs}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{WernerHiguchiMueggeetal.2017, author = {Werner, Rudolf and Higuchi, Takahiro and Muegge, Dirk and Javadi, Mehrbod S. and M{\"a}rkl, Bruno and Aulmann, Christoph and Buck, Andreas K. and Fassnacht, Martin and Lapa, Constantin and Kreissl, Michael C.}, title = {Predictive value of FDG-PET in patients with advanced medullary thyroid cancer undergoing vandetanib treatment}, series = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, volume = {58}, booktitle = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, number = {no. supplement 1}, issn = {0161-5505}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-161147}, pages = {169}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Introduction: The prognosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is poor using common chemotherapeutic approaches. However, during the last years encouraging results of recently introduced tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as vandetanib have been published. In this study we aimed to correlate the results of \(^{18}\)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with treatment outcome. Methods: Eighteen patients after thyroidectomy with recurrent/advanced MTC lesions receiving vandetanib (300 mg orally/day) could be analysed. A baseline \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET prior to and a follow-up \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET 3 months after TKI initiation were performed. During follow-up, tumor progression was assessed every 3 months including computed tomography according to RECIST. Progression-free survival (PFS) was correlated with the maximum standardized uptake value of \(^{18}\)F-FDG in lymph nodes (SUV(LN)max) or visceral metastases (SUV(MTS)max) as well as with clinical parameters using ROC analysis. Results: Within median 3.6 years of follow-up, 9 patients showed disease progression at median 8.5 months after TKI initiation. An elevated glucose consumption assessed by baseline \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET (SUV(LN)max > 7.25) could predict a shorter PFS (2 y) with an accuracy of 76.5\% (SUV(LN)max <7.25, 4.3 y; p=0.03). Accordingly, preserved tumor metabolism in the follow-up PET (SUV(MTS)max >2.7) also demonstrated an unfavorable prognosis (accuracy, 85.7\%). On the other hand, none of the clinical parameters reached significance in response prediction. Conclusions: In patients with advanced and progressive MTC, tumors with higher metabolic activity at baseline are more aggressive and more prone to progression as reflected by a shorter PFS; they should be monitored more closely. Preserved glucose consumption 3 months after treatment initiation was also related to poorer prognosis.}, language = {en} } @article{LenschowWennmannHendricksetal.2022, author = {Lenschow, Christina and Wennmann, Andreas and Hendricks, Anne and Germer, Christoph-Thomas and Fassnacht, Martin and Buck, Andreas and Werner, Rudolf A. and Plassmeier, Lars and Schlegel, Nicolas}, title = {Questionable value of [\(^{99m}\)Tc]-sestamibi scintigraphy in patients with pHPT and negative ultrasound}, series = {Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery}, volume = {407}, journal = {Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1007/s00423-022-02648-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323926}, pages = {3661-3669}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Purpose A successful focused surgical approach in primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) relies on accurate preoperative localization of the parathyroid adenoma (PA). Most often, ultrasound is followed by [\(^{99m}\)Tc]-sestamibi scintigraphy, but the value of this approach is disputed. Here, we evaluated the diagnostic approach in patients with surgically treated pHPT in our center with the aim to further refine preoperative diagnostic procedures. Methods A single-center retrospective analysis of patients with pHPT from 01/2005 to 08/2021 was carried out followed by evaluation of the preoperative imaging modalities to localize PA. The localization of the PA had to be confirmed intraoperatively by the fresh frozen section and significant dropping of the intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Results From 658 patients diagnosed with pHPT, 30 patients were excluded from the analysis because of surgery for recurrent or persistent disease. Median age of patients was 58.0 (13-93) years and 71\% were female. Neck ultrasound was carried out in 91.7\% and localized a PA in 76.6\%. In 23.4\% (135/576) of the patients, preoperative neck ultrasound did not detect a PA. In this group, [\(^{99m}\)Tc]-sestamibi correctly identified PA in only 25.4\% of patients. In contrast, in the same cohort, the use of [\(^{11}\)C]-methionine or [\(^{11}\)C]-choline PET resulted in the correct identification of PA in 79.4\% of patients (OR 13.23; 95\% CI 5.24-33.56). Conclusion [\(^{11}\)C]-Methionine or [\(^{11}\)C]-choline PET/CT are superior second-line imaging methods to select patients for a focused surgical approach when previous ultrasound failed to identify PA.}, language = {en} } @article{WiegeringRiedmeierThompsonetal.2022, author = {Wiegering, Verena and Riedmeier, Maria and Thompson, Lester D. R. and Virgone, Calogero and Redlich, Antje and Kuhlen, Michaela and Gultekin, Melis and Yalcin, Bilgehan and Decarolis, Boris and H{\"a}rtel, Christoph and Schlegel, Paul-Gerhardt and Fassnacht, Martin and Timmermann, Beate}, title = {Radiotherapy for pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma - Review of the literature}, series = {Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology}, volume = {35}, journal = {Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology}, doi = {10.1016/j.ctro.2022.05.003}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300472}, pages = {56-63}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background and purpose Pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma (pACC) is a rare disease with poor prognosis. Publications on radiotherapy (RT) are scarce. This review summarizes the current data on RT for pACC and possibly provides first evidence to justify its use in this setting. Materials and methods We searched the PubMed and Embase database for manuscripts regarding RT for pACC. Results We included 17 manuscripts reporting on 76 patients treated with RT, after screening 2961 references and 269 full articles. In addition, we added data of 4 unreported pACC patients treated by co-authors. All reports based on retrospective data. Median age at first diagnosis was 11.1 years (70\% female); 78\% of patients presented with hormonal activity. RT was mostly performed for curative intent (78\%). 88\% of RT were administered during primary therapy. The site of RT was predominantly the local tumor bed (76\%). Doses of RT ranged from 15 to 62 Gy (median 50 Gy). Information on target volumes or fractionation were lacking. Median follow-up was 6,9 years and 64\% of the patients died of disease, with 33\% alive without disease. In 16 of 48 patients with available follow-up data after adjuvant RT (33\%) no recurrence was reported and in 3 of 9 patients palliative RT seemed to induce some benefit for the patient. Conclusions Our first systematic review on RT for pACC provides too few data for any general recommendation, but adjuvant RT in patients with high risk might be considered. International collaborative studies are urgently needed to establish better evidence on the role of RT in this rare malignancy.}, language = {en} } @article{SbieraKircherAltierietal.2021, author = {Sbiera, Iuliu and Kircher, Stefan and Altieri, Barbara and Lenz, Kerstin and Hantel, Constanze and Fassnacht, Martin and Sbiera, Silviu and Kroiss, Matthias}, title = {Role of FGF Receptors and Their Pathways in Adrenocortical Tumors and Possible Therapeutic Implications}, series = {Frontiers in Endocrinology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Endocrinology}, issn = {1664-2392}, doi = {10.3389/fendo.2021.795116}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-251953}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine malignancy and treatment of advanced disease is challenging. Clinical trials with multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the past have yielded disappointing results. Here, we investigated fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors and their pathways in adrenocortical tumors as potential treatment targets. We performed real-time RT-PCR of 93 FGF pathway related genes in a cohort of 39 fresh frozen benign and malignant adrenocortical, 9 non-adrenal tissues and 4 cell lines. The expression of FGF receptors was validated in 166 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues using RNA in situ hybridization (RNAscope) and correlated with clinical data. In malignant compared to benign adrenal tumors, we found significant differences in the expression of 16/94 FGF receptor pathway related genes. Genes involved in tissue differentiation and metastatic spread through epithelial to mesechymal transition were most strongly altered. The therapeutically targetable FGF receptors 1 and 4 were upregulated 4.6- and 6-fold, respectively, in malignant compared to benign adrenocortical tumors, which was confirmed by RNAscope in FFPE samples. High expression of FGFR1 and 4 was significantly associated with worse patient prognosis in univariate analysis. After multivariate adjustment for the known prognostic factors Ki-67 and ENSAT tumor stage, FGFR1 remained significantly associated with recurrence-free survival (HR=6.10, 95\%CI: 1.78 - 20.86, p=0.004) and FGFR4 with overall survival (HR=3.23, 95\%CI: 1.52 - 6.88, p=0.002). Collectively, our study supports a role of FGF pathways in malignant adrenocortical tumors. Quantification of FGF receptors may enable a stratification of ACC for the use of FGFR inhibitors in future clinical trials.}, language = {en} } @article{DischingerHeckelBischleretal.2021, author = {Dischinger, Ulrich and Heckel, Tobias and Bischler, Thorsten and Hasinger, Julia and K{\"o}nigsrainer, Malina and Schmitt-B{\"o}hrer, Angelika and Otto, Christoph and Fassnacht, Martin and Seyfried, Florian and Hankir, Mohammed Khair}, title = {Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and caloric restriction but not gut hormone-based treatments profoundly impact the hypothalamic transcriptome in obese rats}, series = {Nutrients}, volume = {14}, journal = {Nutrients}, number = {1}, issn = {2072-6643}, doi = {10.3390/nu14010116}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252392}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: The hypothalamus is an important brain region for the regulation of energy balance. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery and gut hormone-based treatments are known to reduce body weight, but their effects on hypothalamic gene expression and signaling pathways are poorly studied. Methods: Diet-induced obese male Wistar rats were randomized into the following groups: RYGB, sham operation, sham + body weight-matched (BWM) to the RYGB group, osmotic minipump delivering PYY3-36 (0.1 mg/kg/day), liraglutide s.c. (0.4 mg/kg/day), PYY3-36 + liraglutide, and saline. All groups (except BWM) were kept on a free choice of high- and low-fat diets. Four weeks after interventions, hypothalami were collected for RNA sequencing. Results: While rats in the RYGB, BWM, and PYY3-36 + liraglutide groups had comparable reductions in body weight, only RYGB and BWM treatment had a major impact on hypothalamic gene expression. In these groups, hypothalamic leptin receptor expression as well as the JAK-STAT, PI3K-Akt, and AMPK signaling pathways were upregulated. No significant changes could be detected in PYY3-36 + liraglutide-, liraglutide-, and PYY-treated groups. Conclusions: Despite causing similar body weight changes compared to RYGB and BWM, PYY3-36 + liraglutide treatment does not impact hypothalamic gene expression. Whether this striking difference is favorable or unfavorable to metabolic health in the long term requires further investigation.}, language = {en} } @article{SbieraRonchiLeichetal.2013, author = {Sbiera, Silviu and Ronchi, Cristina L. and Leich, Ellen and Henzel, Katharina and Rosenwald, Andreas and Allolio, Bruno and Fassnacht, Martin}, title = {Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Array Profiling of Adrenocortical Tumors - Evidence for an Adenoma Carcinoma Sequence?}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0073959}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97218}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Adrenocortical tumors consist of benign adenomas and highly malignant carcinomas with a still incompletely understood pathogenesis. A total of 46 adrenocortical tumors (24 adenomas and 22 carcinomas) were investigated aiming to identify novel genes involved in adrenocortical tumorigenesis. High-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism arrays (Affymetrix) were used to detect copy number alterations (CNAs) and copy neutral losses of heterozygosity (cnLOH). Genomic clustering showed good separation between adenomas and carcinomas, with best partition including only chromosome 5, which was highly amplified in 17/22 malignant tumors. The malignant tumors had more relevant genomic aberrations than benign tumors, such as a higher median number of recurrent CNA (2631 vs 94), CNAs >100 Kb (62.5 vs 7) and CN losses (72.5 vs 5.5), and a higher percentage of samples with cnLOH (91\% vs 29\%). Within the carcinoma cohort, a precise genetic pattern (i.e. large gains at chr 5, 7, 12, and 19, and losses at chr 1, 2, 13, 17, and 22) was associated with a better prognosis (overall survival: 72.2 vs 35.4 months, P=0.063). Interestingly, >70\% of gains frequent in beningn were also present in malignant tumors. Notch signaling was the most frequently involved pathway in both tumor entities. Finally, a CN gain at imprinted "IGF2" locus chr 11p15.5 appeared to be an early alteration in a multi-step tumor progression, followed by the loss of one or two alleles, associated with increased IGF2 expression, only in carcinomas. Our study serves as database for the identification of genes and pathways, such as Notch signaling, which could be involved in the pathogenesis of adrenocortical tumors. Using these data, we postulate an adenoma-carcinoma sequence for these tumors.}, language = {en} } @article{RonchiLeichSbieraetal.2012, author = {Ronchi, Cristina L. and Leich, Ellen and Sbiera, Silviu and Weismann, Dirk and Rosenwald, Andreas and Allolio, Bruno and Fassnacht, Martin}, title = {Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Microarray Analysis in Cortisol-Secreting Adrenocortical Adenomas Identifies New Candidate Genes and Pathways}, series = {Neoplasia}, volume = {14}, journal = {Neoplasia}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1593/neo.111758}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-134953}, pages = {206}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The genetic mechanisms underlying adrenocortical tumor development are still largely unknown. We used high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism microarrays (Affymetrix SNP 6.0) to detect copy number alterations (CNAs) and copy-neutral losses of heterozygosity (cnLOH) in 15 cortisol-secreting adrenocortical adenomas with matched blood samples. We focused on microalterations aiming to discover new candidate genes involved in early tumorigenesis and/or autonomous cortisol secretion. We identified 962 CNAs with a median of 18 CNAs per sample. Half of them involved noncoding regions, 89\% were less than 100 kb, and 28\% were found in at least two samples. The most frequently gained regions were 5p15.33, 6q16.1, 7p22.3-22.2, 8q24.3, 9q34.2-34.3, 11p15.5, 11q11, 12q12, 16q24.3, 20p11.1-20q21.11, and Xq28 (>= 20\% of cases), most of them being identified in the same three adenomas. These regions contained among others genes like NOTCH1, CYP11B2, HRAS, and IGF2. Recurrent losses were less common and smaller than gains, being mostly localized at 1p, 6q, and 11q. Pathway analysis revealed that Notch signaling was the most frequently altered. We identified 46 recurrent CNAs that each affected a single gene (31 gains and 15 losses), including genes involved in steroidogenesis (CYP11B1) or tumorigenesis (CTNNB1, EPHA7, SGK1, STIL, FHIT). Finally, 20 small cnLOH in four cases affecting 15 known genes were found. Our findings provide the first high-resolution genome-wide view of chromosomal changes in cortisol-secreting adenomas and identify novel candidate genes, such as HRAS, EPHA7, and SGK1. Furthermore, they implicate that the Notch1 signaling pathway might be involved in the molecular pathogenesis of adrenocortical tumors.}, language = {en} } @article{FassnachtJohanssenAllolio2011, author = {Fassnacht, Martin and Johanssen, Sarah and Allolio, Bruno}, title = {Statements Cannot Be Substantiated : In Reply}, series = {Deutsches {\"A}rzteblatt International}, volume = {108}, journal = {Deutsches {\"A}rzteblatt International}, number = {19}, doi = {10.3238/arztebl.2011.0339b}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-142597}, pages = {339-340}, year = {2011}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{WernerSayehliHaenscheidetal.2023, author = {Werner, Rudolf A. and Sayehli, Cyrus and H{\"a}nscheid, Heribert and Higuchi, Takahiro and Serfling, Sebastian E. and Fassnacht, Martin and Goebeler, Maria-Elisabeth and Buck, Andreas K. and Kroiss, Matthias}, title = {Successful combination of selpercatinib and radioiodine after pretherapeutic dose estimation in RET-altered thyroid carcinoma}, series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, volume = {50}, journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1007/s00259-022-06061-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324435}, pages = {1833-1834}, year = {2023}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} }