Acromegaly and anaplastic astrocytoma: coincidence or pathophysiological relation?
- Resource Type
- Authors
- John A.H. Wass; Alberto Fernandez; Violet Fazal-Sanderson; Olaf Ansorge; Niki Karavitaki
- Source
- Pituitary. 11:325-330
- Subject
- Adult
Male
Pathology
medicine.medical_specialty
Cabergoline
Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Astrocytoma
medicine.disease_cause
Peptides, Cyclic
Pathogenesis
Paracrine signalling
Endocrinology
Acromegaly
medicine
Humans
Ergolines
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
Autocrine signalling
Neoplasm Staging
Brain Neoplasms
Astrocytic Tumor
business.industry
medicine.disease
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Up-Regulation
Treatment Outcome
Disease Progression
Cranial Irradiation
Somatostatin
Carcinogenesis
business
Craniotomy
Anaplastic astrocytoma
- Language
- ISSN
- 1573-7403
1386-341X
Insulin-like growth factor type I (IGF-I) is an important promoter in the tumorigenesis of several extracranial and intracranial neoplasms. In astrocytic-cell tumors, the role of autocrine and paracrine IGF-I expression in enhancing tumoral progression is well established. However, the influence of systemic IGF-I levels on the clinical behavior of astrocytic neoplasms remains an open subject of research. We report the case of a 28-year-old man who presented simultaneously with acromegaly and an anaplastic astrocytoma, which had rapidly progressed from a low-grade astrocytoma. The coexistence of systemic IGF-I hypersecretion with a quick progression in the histopathological grade of the astrocytoma raises the compelling question of whether the clinical behavior of the astrocytic tumor was influenced by the acromegalic status. The role of IGF-I signaling in the pathogenesis of astrocytic-cell tumors and the experience with therapeutic strategies addressing this pathway in astrocytomas are also discussed.