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European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society staging, together with the Ki67 grading system, has appeared as superior for classification of neuroendocrine tumors (NET). The management of small intestinal NET (SI-NET) has been overall controversial. Mesenteric metastases occur also with the smallest SI-NET, and the majority of patients risk to ultimately progress with liver metastases. 68Gallium (somatostatin receptor)/PET/CT has appeared as most sensitive for imaging, and fluorodeoxyglucose-PET is recommended to identify lesions with high proliferation. Our treatment policy for SINET is to initiate somatostatin analog treatment, and in order to prevent abdominal complications we recommend early intestinal resection for removal of primary tumors and clearance of lymph node metastases. Liver metastases are liberally treated by resection (or ablation), as this can efficiently palliate carcinoid syndrome-associated symptoms.

Incidental detection of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) has substantially increased over the last decade due to widespread use of advanced imaging studies. Reliable initial imaging-based characterization is crucial for the differential diagnosis from other exocrine neoplasms and to determine the appropriate management plan. Measurements of chromogranin A, pancreatic polypeptide, and calcitonin are recommended for the biochemical evaluation. A thorough medical history needs to be performed to rule out multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 1. The European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS)/Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) staging system together with a grading based on the Ki-67 proliferation index and mitotic counts has proven to give more appropriate prognostic information than the World Health Organization (WHO)/American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging but may still fail to safely differentiate benign from malignant lesions. Poorly differentiated PNETs generally present with metastases and are rarely amenable for resection. Well-or intermediately differentiated tumors >= 2 cm with imaging evidence of malignancy or with a Ki-67 > 2% should be resected. It has been suggested that non-MEN related, nonfunctioning, and asymptomatic PNETs < 2 cm with a Ki-67 index >= 2% carry a low risk of metastasis and may be observed in the absence of clinical or radiologic criteria of malignancy or progression, especially in older patients. However, because metastases may occur with long delay with smaller PNETS, physicians should consider patient age, lesion location, and the risks of operation, and patients not undergoing surgery need to be closely followed closely.

Insulinomas are pancreatic islet tumors that inappropriately secrete insulin, producing hypoglycemia. Exome and targeted sequencing revealed that 14 of 43 insulinomas harbored the identical somatic mutation in the DNA-binding zinc finger of the transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1). Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) showed that this T372R substitution changes the DNA motif bound by YY1. Global analysis of gene expression demonstrated distinct clustering of tumors with and without YY1(T372R) mutations. Genes showing large increases in expression in YY1(T372R) tumors included ADCY1 (an adenylyl cyclase) and CACNA2D2 (a Ca2+ channel); both are expressed at very low levels in normal beta-cells and show mutation-specific YY1 binding sites. Both gene products are involved in key pathways regulating insulin secretion. Expression of these genes in rat INS-1 cells demonstrated markedly increased insulin secretion. These findings indicate that YY1(T372R) mutations are neomorphic, resulting in constitutive activation of cAMP and Ca2+ signaling pathways involved in insulin secretion.

Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) are rare hormone producing tumors and are often diagnosed at advanced stage. The genetic and epigenetic background of SI-NETs are poorly understood, but several reports have indicated chromosomal losses at 18.21-qter and 11q22-q23. The aim of this study was to characterize CpG DNA methylation status of primary SI-NETs and the corresponding lymph node metastases. We used the commercially available HumanMethylation27 Beadchip array (Illumina), which covers 27578 CpG sites spanning over 14495 genes, and analyzed a discovery cohort of 10 primary SI-NETs with matched metastases. Messenger- mRNA, were determined for selected genes in a 47 tumors. In comparison to the primary tumors, the metastases showed 2697 statistically significant differentially genes. Metastases were generally less methylated than primary tumors. The relative mRNA expression level of the differentially methylated genes AXL, CRMP1, FGF5, and APOBEC3C largely reflected the methylation status. MAPK4, RUNX3, TP73, CCND1, CHFR, AHRR, and Rb1 known to be hypermethylated in other cancer types, displayed overall high methylation level (β-value ≥ 0.9). Methylation (β -value >0,7) at 18q21-qter and 11q22-q23 were detected in genes SETBP1, ELAC1, MBD1, MAPK4, TCEB3C and ARVC1, MMP8, BTG4, APOA1, FAM89B, HSPB1, respectively. Furthermore unsupervised clustering of the tumors identified three distinct clusters, one with a highly malignant behavior. Our data supports involvement of CpG DNA methylation in metastatic progression of SI-NETs and this could present a possibility to identify more aggressive tumors based on DNA methylation.

BACKGROUND:

A majority of patients with small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) present with or develop liver metastases (LM). A number of treatments for LM are used clinically, including liver transplantation (LTx). Indications for LTx are under debate; young age (<65 years), absence of extrahepatic disease, resected primary tumor and limited extent of LM have been suggested as inclusion criteria for LTx with the aim to optimize outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

From our series of 672 patients with SI-NET treated at the University Hospital in Uppsala between 1985 and 2012, we identified 78 patients according to the following criteria: <65 years of age, locoregional surgery (LRS) of the primary tumor and mesenteric metastases successfully performed, LM present but no extrahepatic disease. Baseline was chosen as the first date the following points were met: First visit to our center, LRS performed, LM present. The patients underwent treatment according to the standard clinical protocols at our center, and during this time period we did not perform or refer any SI-NET patients for LTx. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed in three different groups based on hypothetical criteria for LTx.

RESULTS:

Five-year overall survival rates for patients <65 years (n = 78) and <55 years (n = 36) of age were 84 ± 8 and 92 ± 9 %, respectively. For patients fulfilling the Milan criteria (n = 33) the 5-year survival was 97 ± 6 %.

CONCLUSIONS:

Most young patients (<65 years) with SI-NET and LM have a favorable survival with standardized multimodality treatment. Indeed, most survival figures reported after LTx of NET do not surpass these figures.