Most of adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are characterized by IGF2 overexpression; therefore, several studies have focused on its two oncogenic effectors, the tyrosine-kinase receptors IGF1R and IR. However, the specific IGF2 receptor, IGF2R, due to its scavenging activity, was considered a tumour suppressor and has never been fully investigated in this context. Nevertheless, recent evidence from other tumours identified IGF2R as a pro-tumorigenic actor able to exert its function through the downstream activation of the pro-mitotic sphingosine kinases (SphK) enzymes responsible for sphingosine phosphorylation. Hence, the main aims of this study were to elucidate the role of IGF2R in ACC cells, investigate its action mechanism, and test IGF2R and SphK inhibitors as possible novel therapies for ACC. The present study was conducted in vitro in 4 different ACC cell lines and in 3 ACC primary cultures, to reflect the heterogeneity of ACC. Target protein and transcript expression were evaluated on normal and tumoral adrenal tissues and cell lines, while the effects of IGF2R downregulation and overexpression, along with IGF2R and SphK inhibition, were tested on cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis as well as cortisol secretion. ACC tissue analysis demonstrated the IGF2R overexpression compared to normal adrenal cortex, which was also positively correlated with IGF2 and IGF1R expression in ACC. In vitro assays proved the pro-mitotic involvement of IGF2R and its role in the downstream activation of SphK. Finally, we observed the anti-tumoral efficacy of three different inhibitors of this pathway on ACC cell lines and primary cultures: a specific neutralizing anti-IGF2R antibody was tested for its anti-proliferative action, while two SphK inhibitors, safingol (SAF) and fingolimod (FTY), were able to decrease cell proliferation, viability, and cortisol secretion, while promoting cell apoptosis. Overall, this comprehensive in vitro evaluation of the role of IGF2R in ACC demonstrates its tumorigenic effect through SphK activation. Moreover, the three pharmacological strategies here employed successfully controlled in vitro ACC growth, suggesting IGF2R/SphK pathway represents a novel therapeutic target for ACC.

OBJECTIVE:Advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is treated with mitotane alone or combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy, yet outcomes remain poor and prognostic models in this setting are lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of clinical parameters in a large cohort of patients with advanced ACC undergoing systemic therapy. METHODS:Multicenter, international cohort study investigating 418 patients with advanced ACC (61.5% = women, median age = 52 years) from 11 centers. Patients received mitotane monotherapy (n = 161), etoposide + doxorubicin + cisplatin ± mitotane (n = 178), or second-line regimens (gemcitabine + capecitabine ± mitotane or temozolomide + mitotane, n = 79). Variables included age, cortisol excess, performance status (ECOG-PS), tumor burden, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) at start of therapy. Outcomes were overall survival (OS), time to progression (TTP), and best objective response. RESULTS:Tumor burden, cortisol excess, ECOG-PS, and NLR ≥5 independently predicted shorter OS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.55-2.68). We developed an integrated ENSAT Risk Score for Advanced ACC combining these variables: tumor burden (0-2), cortisol excess (0/1), ECOG-PS (0-2), and NLR (0/1). A score >2 (poor-risk) was significantly associated with worse OS and TTP across all treatment groups (HRs for OS: 3.05-3.96; TTP: 2.53-3.08). It also predicted poorer response to mitotane (P < .01) and second-line therapies (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS:The ENSAT Risk Score for Advanced ACC is a practical, prognostic tool for patients with advanced ACC receiving systemic therapy. Based on accessible clinical and biochemical markers, it can support treatment decisions and facilitate informed discussions in routine care.

Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are aggressive cancers with limited therapeutic options. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) 1/2/4 and polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) are upregulated in ACC, suggesting their role as potential targets. This study investigated the anti-tumour efficacy of the pan-CDK inhibitors (CDKi) dinaciclib, AT7519, and SNS-032; the CDK1-cyclin B1 inhibitor cucurbitacin E (curE); the PLK1 inhibitors (PLK1i) poloxin and plogosertib; and selected combination strategies in four genetically heterogeneous ACC cell lines (NCI-H295R, JIL-2266, MUC-1, TVBF-7) and primary cultures. ACC cells showed marked CDK1/2/4 and PLK1 transcript and protein upregulation compared to normal adrenal gland. Dinaciclib reduced cell growth and induced apoptosis at low nanomolar doses. CurE induced weaker pro-apoptotic effects, whereas AT7519 and SNS-032 displayed activity only in JIL-2266 and MUC-1. Among PLK1i, plogosertib impaired proliferation and increased apoptosis in a nanomolar range. Dinaciclib-plogosertib combination produced the highest synergistic anti-proliferative effects in NCI-H295R and TVBF-7. In steroidogenic NCI-H295R cells, dinaciclib lowered cortisol secretion and downregulated CYP11A1, CYP17A1, CYP21A2, SF-1, and GR transcripts, as well as GR protein expression. In parallel, dinaciclib broadly suppressed CDK1/2 axis and their downstream signalling proteins, including cyclin E1, and p21Waf1/Cip1, consistent with G1/S blockade. Plogosertib increased p-CDK1(Tyr15), cyclin B1, and γ-H2AX levels, indicative of DNA damage and mitotic stress. These results identify dinaciclib and plogosertib as the most effective inhibitors across all ACC models tested. Their simultaneous action on multiple checkpoints, alongside with their synergistic effect in selected cell lines, suggest a potential benefit of their use in ACC that needs to be further investigated in vivo.

BACKGROUND:Mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS), the most common hormonal abnormality in adrenal incidentalomas, is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk. MACS is defined by cortisol concentrations higher than 50 nmol/L after a 1-mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test (1-mg DST). The prognostic value of a single test remains uncertain. We examined longitudinal changes in 1-mg DST results, cumulative cortisol exposure, and their associations with cardiometabolic outcomes and mortality. METHODS:In this retrospective cohort study conducted in 25 adrenal centres that are part of the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumours consortium across 14 countries with adults (aged ≥18 years) with benign adrenal incidentalomas diagnosed from Jan 1, 2000, to Dec 1, 2020, two or more 1-mg DSTs, and follow-up of at least 36 months, we used multivariable Cox models to assess associations between longitudinal 1-mg DST results and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular and thrombotic events. Patients with Cushing's syndrome, primary aldosteronism, phaeochromocytoma, or androgen-secreting tumour at baseline; active malignancy within 36 months of incidentaloma diagnosis; or suspicion of unreliable 1-mg DST results were excluded, along with patients taking oral glucocorticoids, strong CYP3A4 modulators, adrenal enzyme inhibitors, oral oestrogen, or selective oestrogen receptor modulators. Cumulative cortisol exposure was estimated from serial 1-mg DSTs. Restricted mean survival time (RMST) quantified differences in event-free time. Data were collected from the electronic health records of all eligible patients at each participating centre. FINDINGS:Among 2525 patients (median follow-up 80 months [IQR 49-122]), 563 (22·3%) had changes in 1-mg DST results leading to a change in diagnosis, most within 3 years of their baseline 1-mg DST. Patients with persistently abnormal 1-mg DST results (ie, MACS-to-MACS patients; n=839) were older and had a greater cardiometabolic burden than those with persistently normal results (ie, non-functioning adrenal tumours [NFAT]-to-NFAT patients; n=1103). MACS-to-MACS patients had a higher rate of worsening hypertension (adjusted hazard ratio 1·34 [95% CI 1·03-1·73]) and a shorter event-free time for worsening hypertension (10-year RMST 60·4 months [56·8-75·5] vs 86·1 months [79·1-93·4]) than NFAT-to-NFAT patients. In crude analyses, patients with higher baseline post-1-mg DST cortisol, patients with greater cumulative cortisol exposure, and MACS-to-MACS patients had shorter survival and event-free time; however, these associations were not independent of age and baseline cardiometabolic risk factors after multivariable adjustment. INTERPRETATION:Longitudinal 1-mg DST changes are common. MACS-to-MACS patients had worsening hypertension, but rates of mortality and cardiovascular or thrombotic events were not significantly associated with 1-mg DST trajectories after adjustment for age and cardiovascular risk factors. These findings identify patients with persistently abnormal 1-mg DST results as a group with high cardiometabolic risk that warrants closer attention to modifiable risk factors. Prospective studies are needed to establish the clinical significance of repeated 1-mg DSTs for risk stratification. FUNDING:National Institute for Health and Care Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Horizon Europe 2022, and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Data on survival and mortality in Addison’s disease (AD) are contradictory: some studies suggest a mortality rate two times higher than in the general population, but this is not consistently reported in other studies. We evaluated survival and mortality in 1,826 Italian adult patients with AD of different etiologies, collected from 1947 to 2024 across 30 Endocrine Units. These outcomes were compared to those of the age- and sex-matched Italian reference population using a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) in a subgroup of 1,575 cases. Sex and age adjusted survival analysis showed increased mortality in genetic AD, cancer-related-AD and cases with type 1 autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome (APS-1) compared to other etiologies. The SMR analysis demonstrated a significantly increased mortality risk of the overall patients with AD compared to the general population (SMR 1.34, p < 0.01). However, 4 etiologies presented survival similar to the general population: patients with type 2 or type 4 APS or isolated autoimmune AD (SMR 0.91, p = 0,57), vascular/post-tuberculosis AD (SMR 0.90, p = 0.69), bilateral adrenalectomy due to benign endocrine diseases (SMR 0.91. p = 0.64) and not defined AD (SMR 1.06, p = 0.93). These groups included 1,188 patients, representing 75.4

Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MDB) is a systemic disorder that occurs as a complication of advanced chronic kidney disease. It includes biochemical alterations (calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, vitamin D), abnormalities in bone turnover and mineralization, and vascular and soft-tissue calcifications. The development of secondary hyperparathyroidism and profound alterations in bone remodeling culminate in renal osteodystrophy, which contributes to adverse cardiovascular outcomes and increased mortality. This narrative review article aims to summarize the role of novel diagnostic techniques in the early identification of reduced bone mass and risk of fractures in patients with chronic kidney disease. The use of bone turnover markers independent of renal clearance (such as bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b) integrated with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, trabecular bone score and radiofrequency echographic multispectrometry improves the characterization of mineral status, enabling targeted intervention to prevent bone and cardiovascular complications associated with CKD-MBD.

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) affects children in 10

BACKGROUND:Adrenal incidentalomas are found in 3-10% of adults undergoing abdominal imaging. Of these, 30-50% are responsible for mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS), which is frequently associated with hypertension. The impact of adrenalectomy on hypertension in patients with unilateral incidentalomas and MACS remains uncertain. The aim of the CHIRACIC study was to prospectively assess the impact of surgical excision of the incidentaloma on blood pressure with a randomised trial combining accurate blood pressure measurement and standardisation of antihypertensive treatment. METHODS:CHIRACIC was a multicentre, superiority, open-label, parallel, randomised controlled trial performed at 17 university hospitals in France, Italy, and Germany. Adults with hypertension with MACS entered a run-in phase to confirm hypertension with multiple home blood pressure measurements (HBPM) before blood pressure was normalised with standardised stepped-care antihypertensive treatment. Eligible participants were then randomly assigned (1:1) to adrenalectomy or conservative management. Randomisation was blocked (random block size of 4 and 6) and stratified by intensity of antihypertensive treatment. Participants were followed up for 13 months and systematic attempts were made to gradually reduce antihypertensive treatment. The primary endpoint was the proportion of normotensive participants using HBPM who reduced their antihypertensive treatment in the intention-to-treat population at study completion. Key secondary endpoints included 24 h ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM), mean change in antihypertensive treatment, and the proportion of participants with antihypertensive treatment at study completion. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02364089, and is completed. FINDINGS:Between April 9, 2015 and Nov 23, 2022, 78 patients were enrolled, and 52 eligible participants were randomly assigned to adrenalectomy (n=26, 23 underwent adrenalectomy and completed the study) or conservative management (n=26, 25 completed the study). The median age of participants was 63·3 years (IQR 57·4-68·2) and 36 (69%) were female. At study completion, a reduction in antihypertensive treatment with normal HBPM was observed in 12 (46%) of 26 participants treated with adrenalectomy and in four (15%) of 26 treated conservatively (adjusted risk difference [RD] 0·34 [95% CI 0·11 to 0·58]; p=0·0038). Similar results of smaller magnitude were observed for systolic blood pressure during 24 h ABPM. There were ten (43%) of 23 participants still needing antihypertensive treatment in the adrenalectomy group and 24 (96%) of 25 in the conservative management group (adjusted RD -0·58 [95% CI -0·78 to -0·38]; p<0·0001). Mean antihypertensive treatment step was 0·8 (SD 1·1) in the adrenalectomy group and 3·0 (1·4) in the conservative management groups (adjusted difference -2·05 [95% CI -2·61 to -1·50]; p<0·0001]. The number of patients with normal systolic HBPM and no hypertensive treatment was 12 (52%) of 23 in the adrenalectomy group and none in the conservative management group. Serious adverse events occurred in eight (35%) of 23 participants in the adrenalectomy group and eight (31%) of 26 participants in the conservative management group. Three serious adverse events for three (13%) participants were related to the surgery (post-surgical wall pain and hypotension). INTERPRETATION:MACS associated with unilateral adrenal incidentalomas is responsible for secondary hypertension that can be safely improved by minimally-invasive adrenalectomy. FUNDING:French Ministry of Health and the German Research Foundation.

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are oral antidiabetic agents that have shown significant improvements in cardiovascular and renal outcomes among patients with heart failure (HF), regardless of diabetic status, establishing them as a cornerstone therapy. In addition to glycemic control and the osmotic diuretic effect, the inhibition of SGLT2 improves endothelial function and vasodilation, optimizing myocardial energy metabolism and preserving cardiac contractility. Moreover, SGLT2 inhibitors may exhibit anti-inflammatory properties and attenuate acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, thereby reducing cardiac infarct size, enhancing left ventricular function, and mitigating arrhythmias. These pleiotropic effects have demonstrated efficacy across various cardiovascular conditions, ranging from acute to chronic coronary syndromes and extending to arrhythmias, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathies, cardio-oncology, and cerebrovascular disease. This review provides an overview of the current literature on the potential mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of SGLT2 inhibitors across a wide range of cardiovascular diseases beyond HF.

The insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) is overexpressed in 90% of adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) and promotes cell proliferation via IGF1R and isoform A of insulin receptor (IRA). However, IGF2 role in ACC tumourigenesis has not been completely understood yet, and the contribution of IGF1R and IRA in mediating ACC cell growth has been poorly explored. This study aimed to investigate IGF1R and IR expression and localisation, including the expression of IR isoforms, in ACC and adrenocortical adenomas (ACA), and their role in IGF2-driven proliferation. Immunohistochemistry staining of IGF1R and IR was performed on 118 ACC and 22 ACA to evaluate their expression and cellular localisation and statistical analyses were carried out to assess correlations with clinicopathological data. The expression of IRA and IRB in ACC and ACA tissues, ACC cell lines and ACC and ACA primary cultures was determined by RT-qPCR. To appraise the specific role of IGF1R and IR in mediating IGF2 mitogenic pathway, single and double silencing of receptors and their inhibition in 2 ACC cell lines derived from primary tumours (H295R and JIL-2266) and 2 derived from metastatic tumours (MUC-1 and TVBF-7) as well as in ACC and ACA primary cultures were performed. We found a higher IGF1R plasma membrane localisation in ACC compared to ACA. In ACC this localisation was associated with higher Ki67 and Weiss score. IR was expressed in about half of ACC and in all ACA but, in ACC, it was associated with higher Ki67 and Weiss score. RT-qPCR revealed that the prevalent isoform of IR was IRA in ACC and ACA, but not in normal adrenals. In ACC cell lines, double IGF1R + IR silencing reduced cell proliferation in JIL-2266, MUC-1 and TVBF-7 but not in H295R. In ACC, but not ACA, primary cultures, cell proliferation was reduced after IR but not IGF1R knockdown. Overall, these data suggest that IGF1R localisation and IR expression represent new biomarkers predicting tumour aggressiveness, as well as possible molecular markers useful to patients' stratification for more individualized IGF1R-IR targeted therapies or for novel pharmacological approaches specifically targeting IRA isoform.

The most frequent form of ACTH-independent Cushing׳s syndrome is caused by unilateral adrenocortical adenomas. This condition is diagnosed in patients with a clinical phenotype of Cushing׳s syndrome, in the presence of hormonal alterations indicative of hypercortisolism, low plasma morning ACTH levels, and an adrenocortical tumor with radiological characteristics of adenoma. Recent advances in the molecular pathogenesis have revealed that somatic mutations of the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A are the causative event in more than half of the cases. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is curative in virtually all cases of Cushing׳s syndrome due to unilateral adrenocortical adenomas.