Search

Selpercatinib, a RET kinase inhibitor, is an effective treatment for patients with medullary thyroid cancer with RET mutations. In this paper, we present the case of a 62-year-old man with ectopic Cushing's syndrome due to medullary thyroid cancer who received treatment with selpercatinib. Six months later, all the cushingoid features had resolved, and s-calcitonin had decreased from 580 pmol/L to 3.5 pmol/L (normal < 3). After further 6 months, s-calcitonin had normalized (1.5 pmol/L), and radiological evaluation showed a profound tumour volume reduction. We are aware of two other cases where treatment with selpercatinib has also been successful. Thus, selpercatinib may be a promising treatment alternative in patients with ectopic Cushing's syndrome due to medullary thyroid cancer, especially when other treatment options are ineffective or not tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some new cases of anomalies in wild Bufotes viridis from Western Poland are presented together with a discussion of their potential causes and a comparison with similar cases from the literature. The anomalies in question are color aberrations (pre- and postmetamorphic) and developmental pathologies (pre-metamorphic). The color anomalies include an ochre patch in a juvenile, leucism and albinism in both tadpoles and juvenile individuals. Developmental pathologies described in this paper include gigantism, edema, curvature of tail, and asymmetric bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Ectopic Cushing's syndrome (ECS) is an uncommon disorder. Recently, however, a larger proportion of patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS) had ECS than has previously been reported., Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether ECS is an underdiagnosed disorder in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC)., Materials and Methods: Medical records from consecutive patients diagnosed with SCLC at our hospital between 2013 and 2019 were reviewed ( N = 213; mean age 69.5 ± 9 years; range, 36-89 years). The probability of having ECS was evaluated by review of biochemical and clinical features, including presence of recent onset diabetes mellitus, therapy resistant hypertension and/or spontaneous hypokalaemia., Results: Of 213 identified patients with SCLC, one (0.5%) patient had confirmed ECS, two (1%) patients had probable ECS, and twenty-three (11%) patients had possibly ECS. Patients with SCLC and possibly or probable ECS exhibited a significantly shorter survival than patients only with SCLC (8 vs. 14 months, respectively)., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ECS is underdiagnosed in patients with SCLC. Given the serious consequences of untreated ECS, the low detection rate highlights the need to improve endocrine work-up of patients with SCLC who present with biochemical and clinical features associated with ECS. Prospective studies are needed to establish a reliable assessment of the incidence of ECS and to optimise early detection strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Piasecka, Larsson, Papakokkinou, Olsson and Ragnarsson.)