Acromegaly is associated with increased cancer risk: a survey in Italy.

It is debated if acromegalic patients have an increased risk to develop malignancies. The aim of the present study was to assess the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of different types of cancer in acromegaly on a large series of acromegalic patients managed in the somatostatin analogs era. It was evaluated the incidence of cancer in an Italian nationwide multicenter cohort study of 1512 acromegalic patients, 624 men and 888 women, mean age at diagnosis 45 ± 13 years, followed up for a mean of 10 years (12573 person-years) in respect to the general Italian population. Cancer was diagnosed in 124 patients, 72 women and 52 men. The SIRs for all cancers was significantly increased compared to the general Italian population (expected: 88, SIR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.18-1.68, P < 0.001). In the whole series, we found a significantly increased incidence of colorectal cancer (SIR 1.67; 95% CI, 1.07-2.58, P = 0.022), kidney cancer (SIR 2.87; 95% CI, 1.55-5.34, P < 0.001) and thyroid cancer (SIR 3.99; 95% CI, 2.32-6.87, P < 0.001). The exclusion of 11 cancers occurring before diagnosis of acromegaly (all in women) did not change remarkably the study outcome. In multivariate analysis, the factors significantly associated with an increased risk of malignancy were age and family history of cancer, with a non-significant trend for the estimated duration of acromegaly before diagnosis. In conclusion, we found evidence that acromegaly in Italy is associated with a moderate increase in cancer risk.

Evaluation of Midnight Salivary Cortisol as a Predictor Factor for Common Carotid Arteries Intima Media Thickness in Patients with Clinically Inapparent Adrenal Adenomas.

Purpose. The aim of the present study was to investigate the atherosclerotic vascular damage in a consecutive series of patients with AI and to correlate it with MSC. Methods. We studied 32 patients with AI matched with control subjects for age, sex, and cardiovascular risk factors. Either patients or control subjects underwent MSC measurement as outpatients and carotid arteries ultrasound (US) imaging studies. Results. The patients with AI had higher mean carotid artery IMT values and higher MSC levels than control subjects. In a multivariate analysis performed in AI age was the best predictor for IMT. We have stratified patients and control subjects by age (<60 yrs and ≥60 yrs). The patients showed significantly higher MSC levels than controls in both groups, whereas significantly higher IMT values were observed only in older subjects. Conclusions. Patients with AI have signs of accelerated atherosclerosis. Patients older than 60 years seem more susceptible to the possible detrimental effect of subclinical hypercortisolism on cardiovascular system. The MSC levels are not a strong predictor of the accelerated atherosclerosis, but they seem to indicate the subtle but not autonomous cortisol excess that may potentially raise the cardiovascular risk.

Screening of Cushing's syndrome in outpatients with type 2 diabetes: results of a prospective multicentric study in Italy.

CONTEXT: Cushing's syndrome may remain unrecognized among patients referred for metabolic syndrome; thus, a proactive screening has been suggested in certain patient populations with features of the disorder. However, conflicting data have been reported on the prevalence of Cushing's syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of unsuspected Cushing's syndrome among outpatients with type 2 diabetes. DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a cross-sectional prospective study in 24 diabetes clinics across Italy. PATIENTS: Between June 2006 and April 2008, 813 patients with known type 2 diabetes without clinically overt hypercortisolism were evaluated. Follow-up of the study was closed in September 2010. Patients were not selected for characteristics conferring a higher pretest probability of hypercortisolism. Patients underwent a first screening step with the 1-mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test. RESULTS: Forty patients failed to suppress serum cortisol less than 5.0 µg/dl (138 nmol/liter) and underwent a standard 2-d, 2-mg dexamethasone suppression test, after which six patients (0.6% of the overall series) failed to suppress cortisol less than 1.8 µg/dl (50 nmol/liter), receiving a definitive diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome that was adrenal dependent in five patients. Four patients were cured, being able to discontinue, or reduce, the glucose-lowering agents. CONCLUSIONS: The present data do not support widespread screening of patients with type 2 diabetes for Cushing's syndrome; however, the disorder is less rare than previously thought when considering epidemiology of type 2 diabetes. Our results support a case-finding approach in patients with uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension despite appropriate treatment.