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Experimental studies have implicated GH in the initiation and/or promotion of tumorigenesis, suggesting that patients treated with GH might be at increased risk of cancer. In this Viewpoint, the author reviews several cohort studies and finds that GH therapy could be associated with an elevated incidence of cancer, particularly of the colon.
Although there is some evidence that high levels of GH might cause cancer, patients with acromegaly do not have an increased cancer incidence. This Viewpoint argues, therefore, that GH replacement therapy is not associated with an increased risk of malignancy and that the benefits of treatment probably outweigh the perceived risks.
This Review details treatment of prolactinomas that do not respond to dopamine agonists. Cabergoline is the most effective agonist and options include maximizing the dose and changing agonists. Trans-sphenoidal surgery is an option if medical therapy is ineffective. Radiation therapy is reserved for invasive tumors that do not respond to medical or surgical therapy.
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 can be caused by mutations in the gene encoding menin. By interacting with both transcription factors and histone-protein modifying factors, menin can activate or repress gene expression, and—as detailed here—specific pathways affected by menin have been identified. This offers hope for new screening and therapeutic strategies.
Excess local tissue production of prolactin may be associated with development and progression of breast and prostate cancers. Pure prolactin-receptor antagonists, such as described here, block prolactin signaling, and may provide a novel therapeutic approach to these cancers, as well as a means of treating drug-resistant forms of hyperprolactinemia.
