Familial endocrine disease: genetics, clinical presentation and management

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Familial endocrine disease

genetics, clinical presentation and management

Introduction

The diagnosis and management of familial endocrine syndromes epitomises the complex and changing interface between surgery, medicine and molecular genetics. The last decade has seen an explosion in our understanding of the molecular basis of these rare syndromes, and the rapid translation of research-based findings into clinical practice. As a result, genetic testing is already resulting in highly effective, targeted intervention. The next decade is likely to see continued progress, with expansion and refinement of molecular diagnostics and further integration of these developments into clinical practice. We must be mindful, however, of the limitations of molecular medicine, and the ethical context in which molecular medicine should be practised.

This chapter will cover the genetics, presentation and management of a range of conditions relevant to endocrine surgical practice. This is a complex clinical area, and one that encompasses several professional boundaries and the interface between paediatric and adult medicine. A coordinated and integrated approach is essential.

A brief overview of clinical endocrine genetics

The growth, replication and differentiation of cells are regulated by many different genes. When these genes become damaged – or ‘mutated’ – cell proliferation may become disordered and give rise to a tumour, whether benign or malignant. The majority of tumours result from acquired genetic damage which accumulates in a complex stepwise, age-related fashion. Some tumours, however, result from a germ-line – usually inherited – gene mutation. This can give rise to a familial tumour predisposition syndrome (Fig. 4.1), and the familial endocrine diseases discussed on the following pages are examples of such syndromes. They are typically characterised by predisposition to one or more tumours arising in endocrine and some neural crest-derived tissues, both benign (functional and non-functional endocrine tumours) and malignant (e.g. medullary thyroid cancer), and often separated by many years. Some individuals and families, however, only ever manifest with one tumour type: familial medullary thyroid cancer and familial hyperparathyroidism, for example.

The penetrance of an inherited disease is the proportion of individuals with the gene mutation (‘heterozygotes’, in the case of an autosomal dominant disorder) who develop disease. In the case of a multisystem disease, penetrance relates to any phenotypic manifestation. Note that penetrance of familial endocrine diseases is usually delayed until beyond childhood and is always less than 100%, hence the term ‘reduced penetrance’. This clearly implies that some individuals with a mutation in a familial endocrine disease gene will never develop disease. Such individuals may, of course, pass the condition to their offspring, who in turn may develop disease. Cascade testing that relies on clinical screening tests alone therefore has a false-negative rate; cascade testing using DNA testing is 100% sensitive, although it does not currently predict who will, and who will not, develop disease (see below).

Expression of an inherited disease is a description of the phenotypic manifestation. In the case of a single-phenotype disease, this may be ‘mild’ to ‘severe’, ‘unilateral’ or ‘bilateral’, etc.; in the case of a multisystem disease like multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), this may be ‘pituitary adenoma plus primary hyperparathyroidism’, for example. Note that expression of familial endocrine diseases may change over time as an individual develops further disease manifestations.

Diagnostic genetic testing describes the process of identifying the disease-causing mutation in a DNA sample taken from the proband (the first affected family member to be identified). This may involve analysis of a single gene (e.g. in an individual with an MEN1 phenotype) or several genes (e.g. in an individual with an extra-adrenal phaeochromocytoma/ paraganglioma). There are three possible outcomes of a diagnostic test:

• Identification of a disease-causing mutation: a change in the gene sequence that has a predictable deleterious effect on gene function or protein chemistry and is therefore believed to be the cause of the proband’s disease.

• Identification of a variant of uncertain significance (VUS): a change in the gene sequence that usually results in an amino acid change in the corresponding protein but which has an unpredictable effect on that protein. In this situation, further investigations may clarify whether the variant is causally related to the phenotype. A VUS should never form the basis of a predictive genetic test (see below).

• No mutation or VUS identified: the mutation detection rate for a given gene in a particular clinical context is rarely 100%; in other words, the disease-causing mutation is undetectable in a proportion (usually small) of individuals with classical disease. Failure to identify a mutation has three possible implications:

• The diagnosis is correct but the gene mutation has not been identified. For example, a small proportion of probands with classical MEN1 have a mutation that cannot be detected using current technology (see under MEN1). This may also be a particular problem in diseases that can be caused by mutations in a number of different genes (e.g. familial paraganglioma/phaeochromocytoma), and should prompt the question ‘have we tested the correct gene?’

• The diagnosis is correct but the phenotype is not caused by a germ-line gene mutation, for example extra-adrenal paraganglioma/phaeochromocytoma.

• The diagnosis is not correct. For example, an 80-year-old woman with primary hyperparathyroidism, acromegaly and no family history of endocrine disease is likely to have a normal MEN1 genetic test result. The term phenocopy is used in this case to describe someone with coincidental ‘common’ endocrine problems that mimic MEN1.

Cascade (‘predictive’) genetic testing describes the process of testing the proband’s relatives, once the disease-causing mutation has been identified. This should be done after full discussion about the consequences of a positive test result in terms of lifelong medical management, reproductive implications and life insurance. It is important to realise that cascade genetic testing simply identifies relatives who share the same mutation as the proband; it does not answer questions about penetrance or expressivity. In that sense, a cascade test can never be truly predictive.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1)

MEN1 is an autosomal dominant familial syndrome characterised by the development of multiple and metachronous endocrine and non-endocrine tumours (Table 4.1). Approximately 10% of cases arise de novo, without a prior family history of the syndrome.1 The precise prevalence of MEN1 is unclear. This in part refects variability in disease expression, even though penetrance may be high. The hallmark features of MEN1 are endocrine tumours of the pituitary, pancreas and parathyroid.

Table 4.1

Clinical features of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1)

Tumour/site* Hormonal/other characteristics*
Parathyroid adenoma (90%)
Enteropancreatic islet tumour (30–80%) NF (80%)Gastrinoma (40%)
Pancreatic polypeptidoma (20%)
Insulinoma (10%)
Glucagonoma
VIPoma
Somatostatinoma
ACTHoma (rare)
GRFoma (rare)
Anterior pituitary tumour (10–60%) Prolactinoma (20%)
NF (6%)
GHoma (5%)
ACTHoma (2%)
Foregut carcinoid Gastric ECL tumour (10%)
Thymic carcinoid (2–8%)
Bronchial carcinoid (2%)
Adrenocortical tumour Non-functioning adenoma (25%)
Adrenocortical carcinoma (rare)
Hyperaldosteronism (rare)
Cutaneous manifestations Lipoma (30%)
Angiofibroma (85%)
Collagenoma (70%)

ACTH, adrenocorticotropin; ECL, enterochromaffin-like; GH, growth hormone; GRF, growth hormone releasing factor; NF, non-functioning; VIP, vasoactive intestinal peptide.

*Values in brackets are estimates of penetrance of given characteristic at age 40.

Genetics

MEN1 is associated with heterozygous germ-line loss of function mutations in the MEN1 gene located on chromsome 11q13.2 Endocrine tumours from patients with MEN1 demonstrate loss of heterozygosity for the MEN1 locus, indicating that tumour formation is dependent on the development of a second somatic mutation in the wild-type allele (Fig. 4.1). MEN1 therefore acts as a tumour suppressor gene. Heterozygous MEN1 mutant mice develop tumours mimicking the human phenotype.3 The MEN1 gene encodes a 67-kDa protein – menin – which has multiple functional domains (Fig. 4.2). Menin can influence a number of key cellular processes including transcription, DNA repair and cytoskeletal function. Menin is known to bind several signalling proteins including JunD and Smad3. Recent data have highlighted menin’s role in the regulation of key developmental genes through influences on histone methylation.4,5

Some patients and families manifest MEN1 but do not have demonstrable mutations in the MEN1 gene on gene sequencing. There are several potential explanations for this phenomenon:

The above possibilities should always be considered in an individual with possible MEN1 if MEN1 gene sequence analysis has been reported as normal.

MEN1 exhibits variable penetrance and variable expressivity (see above). Not all features of MEN1 will occur in a single patient or indeed a single family. Some families exhibit only hyperparathyroidism.1 There is considerable variation in age-related tumour penetrance and no clear genotype–phenotype correlation. It is therefore difficult to predict with any degree of accuracy the natural history of MEN1 in an individual or within a family.6

Presentation

Presentation is dependent upon the herald lesion. More than one component may be apparent at presentation.

Enteropancreatic islet tumours

The prevalence of enteropancreatic islet tumours in patients with MEN1 may be as high as 80%, although the majority of such tumours are clinically silent and non-functional. Functional tumours can present in the second decade of life. Many a symptomatic patients have radiologically detectable tumours by the third decade. Tumours can arise throughout the pancreas and the duodenal submucosa. They are commonly multicentric, metachronous, and range in size and characteristics from micro- and macroadenomas to invasive and metastatic carcinoma. The prognosis of these tumours may relate to specific somatic molecular changes.7

Up to 40% of patients with MEN1 develop gastrinoma, and current data suggest that up to 25% of all patients with gastrinoma have MEN1. Though presentation with invasive or metastatic disease is unusual before 30 years of age, metastatic disease (possibly occult) can be present in up to 50% of MEN1-associated gastrinoma at diagnosis. The presence of multiple, discrete gastrinomas can be mistaken for local disemminated disease. Tumours secreting pancreatic polypeptide are manifest biochemically and radiologically, but are generally clinically silent.

Pituitary tumours

The prevalence of pituitary tumours in MEN1 is uncertain, due to the range of patients and methods employed in the majority of studies to date. A large European multicentre study of 324 patients with MEN1 found pituitary tumours in 42% of cases.8 The most common pituitary lesion is prolactinoma. There are few prospective data on age-related penetrance of pituitary disease. However, MEN1-associated pituitary macroadenoma has occurred as early as 5 years of age.9

Foregut carcinoids

MEN1-associated foregut carcinoid tumours are found in the thymus, stomach and bronchi. They are not generally hormonally active, and do not present with carcinoid syndrome. Their true prevalence is unclear. Gastric enterochromaffin-like (ECL) tumours are generally discovered at endoscopy. They exhibit loss of heterozygosity at the MEN1 gene locus and are promoted by hypergastrinaemia. Thus, they generally arise in MEN1 patients with gastrinoma. They can regress with normalisation of gastrin levels after surgical excision of gastrinoma.10 Thymic carcinoid disease has been highlighted as a major cause of mortality in MEN1. However, relatively little is known about its natural history. A prospective study of 85 patients with MEN1 found an incidence of 8% over a mean follow-up period of 8 years.11 Patients were all male, and most had no symptoms of the tumour at the time of detection. Interestingly, 4 of 7 of the tumours did not show somatic loss of heterozygosity at the MEN1 locus, raising questions as to the mechanism of tumour development. Serum chromogranin A was elevated in 6 of 7 tumours. Mean time interval between diagnosis of MEN1 and development of thymic carcinoid was 19 years. It may be that as early mortality reduces in MEN1 due to improved surgical and medical treatment, this relatively late expression of the disease increases in prevalence and impact.

Diagnosis

A diagnosis of MEN1 is considered in any patient presenting with two synchronous or metachronous tumours in the three characteristic sites (pituitary, pancreas and parathyroid). If there is a first-degree relative with a lesion typical of MEN1, the diagnosis should be considered in the presence of a single lesion. Patients with recurrent PHP, especially multiglandular disease, should have the diagnosis excluded.

The application of diagnostic DNA analysis has altered the phenotypic spectrum of MEN1, revealing both asymptomatic individuals and those with atypical phenotypes. DNA analysis does not always provide answers, however, as illustrated by phenocopies: the association of an endocrine tumour that has a low population prevalence – such as growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumour – with PHP could represent MEN1 or MEN1 phenocopy. Recent data suggest that mutations in the MEN1 coding region are infrequent in those patients without a family history of MEN1 who develop this combination of endocrinopathies.15 Absence of an MEN1 mutation may therefore be difficult to interpret, particularly if the patient is young and there is no supportive family history.

Management

MEN1 is associated with premature death, most commonly (30%) through metastatic islet cell tumours.16 Advances in the medical management of gastrinoma and hyperparathyroidism may result in a paradoxical increase in cumulative morbidity from other facets of the condition in the coming decade. The principal organs involved in MEN1 are difficult to screen for early tumours, and prophylactic surgery is either not appropriate or has not been shown to prevent the development of tumour (cervical thymectomy).11 The challenge is therefore to improve morbidity and mortality through targeted surgical and medical interventions as directed by surveillance and molecular screening programmes that aim to detect disease expression at an early stage in an inclusive manner.17

Primary hyperparathyroidism

PHP in MEN1 is characterised by asynchronous involvement of all parathyroid glands. However, there remains debate as to the optimum type and timing of parathyroid surgery. Subtotal parathyroidectomy for PHP in MEN1 is associated with a surgical cure rate (as defined by the number of patients not hypercalcaemic) of 60% at 10 years and 51% at 15 years.18 The alternative, total parathyroidectomy with or without autograft, is associated with postoperative hypoparathyroidism and lifelong treatment with vitamin D analogues. Preoperative imaging and minimally invasive approaches may be difficult because of the need to examine all four glands. Transcervical thymectomy is recommended at the time of parathyroidectomy.

Enteropancreatic islet tumours

Enteropancreatic tumours in MEN1 are often multiple, recurrent and heterogeneous in behaviour. Correct management requires the correlation of symptoms, hormonal and imaging studies (which may be discordant), and experience in the natural history of the pathology. This can pose a significant challenge to the clinician.

Surgery is the main treatment for patients with insulinoma in MEN1 (Figs 4.3 and 4.4). All other syndromes of hormone excess due to enteropancreatic tumours respond well to medical therapy with proton-pump inhibitors (gastrinoma) or somatostatin analogues (VIPoma). The timing of surgery in the management of these conditions is debated.

Gastrinomas in MEN1 are often multifocal and small, and can be situated in the duodenum. Extensive pancreatic–duodenal surgery can be associated with significant morbidity. Surgery for gastrinoma in MEN1 is frequently not curative, in part due to the multifocal nature of the problem.19 Furthermore, metastatic disease is found at surgery in a substantial number of patients in whom it is not apparent preoperatively.20 Nevertheless, the outcome of patients treated surgically for locally advanced disease can be the same as those with limited disease. Indeed, there are data that demonstrate that surgery is beneficial in increasing disease-related survival and decreasing advanced disease in Zollinger–Ellison syndrome.21

Non-functioning enteropancreatic islet cell tumours and those secreting pancreatic polypeptide are generally clinically silent. There is no consensus as to best treatment in this situation. Some advocate surgical removal if the lesion is greater than 3 cm or growing on serial radiological monitoring, while others suggest excision as a preventive measure in the absence of data suggestive of aggressive behaviour.

The standard surgical approach other than for gastrinoma is spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (Fig. 4.5) and intraoperative bidigital palpation, coupled with intraoperative ultrasound and enucleation of any tumour found in the pancreatic head and duodenal submucosa. Surgery for gastrinoma should include duodenotomy.23 A Whipple procedure may be considered for tumours at the pancreatic head. Preoperative localisation of the target lesion with corroborative intraoperative ultrasound is useful in planning the appropriate approach. This can be important in the management of functional tumours as the pancreas and duodenum may contain multiple abnormalities, leading to uncertainty as to which of several lesions is the source of excess hormone production. Surgery prompted by abnormal biochemistry but in the absence of any scan-detected lesion should be considered to prevent malignant transformation of microadenomas. Distal 80% subtotal pancreatectomy should be considerd for risk modification in any paitent undergoing surgery for localised islet-cell tumour in MEN1.24

Surveillance and screening

The multiple and metachronous nature of endocrine tumours associated with MEN1 requires lifelong clinical, biochemical and radiological surveillance to detect MEN1-associated tumour expression as soon as possible, minimising morbidity and optimising outcome. Genetic testing supports this process, facilitating the identification of both individuals within a kindred who will benefit from such long-term surveillance and those who do not require it.

Genetic testing

MEN1 gene analysis, involving sequencing of all coding exons of the MEN1 gene, should be offered to patients with MEN1 to help in determining biochemical and radiological screening strategies for their relatives. Analysis may also be helpful in those patients with atypical presentations, but only if an MEN1-defining mutation is found. Identification of an MEN1 mutation in an index case should lead to a screening cascade for the same mutation within the family, beginning with first-degree relatives. Given that 25% of all patients with gastrinoma have MEN1, genetic testing should be considered in patients presenting with gastrinoma, even in the absence of other features.

Biochemical and radiological surveillance

Biochemical and radiological screening should be offered to all patients with a diagnosis of MEN1, to asymptomatic relatives found to harbour an MEN1-defining MEN1 mutation on genetic testing, and to those found to be at risk through linkage studies (Table 4.2). First-degree relatives of those patients with MEN1 in whom an MEN1 mutation has not been found should also be offered screening pending the outcome of promoter and exon dosage analyses. Biochemical and radiological screening should commence in early childhood, balancing age-dependent penetration, sensitivity of specific studies in specific age groups, and the inconvenience caused by the process. Screening should be lifelong for those patients with MEN1, those known to harbour MEN1-defining MEN1 mutations, and those defined as ‘at risk’ by haplotype and linkage studies. It should continue to the age of 50 in those kindreds in whom no genetic risk stratification is possible.

Gastrin levels are elevated in primary (atrophic) and secondary (drug-induced) achlorhydria, which can lead to false-positive screening tests for the disease. Ideally, treatment with H2 antagonists and proton-pump inhibitors should be stopped for 2 and 4 weeks, respectively, before assessment of gastrin levels. However, gastrin levels in the normal range do not exclude gastrinoma, and there should be a low threshold for complementary corroborative gastric acid studies.

MEN1: differential diagnosis

Elements of MEN1 may rarely present as an isolated familial trait, or as part of a non-MEN1 syndrome. Enteropancreatic islet tumours and intestinal (foregut) carcinoid tumours usually occur either as sporadic tumours or as part of MEN1. Familial isolated enteropancreatic islet tumours have rarely, if ever, been described in the medical literature. Familial intestinal carcinoid tumours are extremely rare. Familial adenocortical diseases have been known for many years.

Familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA)

Pituitary adenomas can occur in MEN1 and Carney syndrome (see below), as well as familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) syndrome. Indeed, familial acromegaly has been recognised for many years. FIPA is an autosomal dominant condition with variable penetrance: 15–25% of FIPA families harbour heterozygous mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting (AIP) gene; in the remaining 80% of families the causative gene – or genes – remain(s) unknown.25,26

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2

MEN2 is an autosomal dominant familial cancer syndrome characterised by the metachronous development of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), phaeochromocytoma and PHP. Overall penetrance of the disease is high in gene carriers although that of individual characteristics is varied. MEN2 is subclassified into several discrete forms with clinical, pathological and molecular correlates:

MEN2B is the most aggressive form, MTC presenting at a younger age and often with more advanced disease. Historically, the majority of MEN2B cases represent de novo mutations without a family history of the condition. Earlier diagnosis and improved management strategies may result in a change in this picture over the next 20 years.

Genetics

MEN2 is associated with heterozygous gain of function mutations in the RET gene found on Ch10q11.2. The RET gene codes for a membrane-associated tyrosine kinase with an extracellular cadherin-like domain and two independent intracellular tyrosine kinase (TK) domains (Fig. 4.6). RET protein is expressed by a range of neuroendocrine cell types including the adrenal medulla, thyroid C-cells and parathyroid. In normal physiology, extracellular signals lead to RET dimerisation, triggering TK domain phosphorylation and a downstream signal transduction cascade leading to cell growth and differentiation. Gain of function mutations found in MEN2 produce constitutive activation of the RET signal transduction cascade outwith normal control processes.28,29

MEN2A shows variable penetrance. Approximately 40% of gene carriers develop clinical manifestations by age 50 and 60% by age 70. Biochemical screening can lead to earlier identification of gene carriers: approximately 90% of individuals with MEN2A have biochemical abnormality by age 30 even if there are no overt signs of MEN2A.

In contrast to MEN1, there is a partial genotype– phenotype correlation in MEN2. For the majority of families with MEN2A and FMTC the mutations in RET affect cysteine residues in the extracellular domain of the RET protein. The exact position of the cysteine residue involved by any particular mutation affects the likelihood of the phenotype being either MEN2A or FMTC. Virtually all mutations in MEN2A are found in exons 10 and 11 of the RET gene. For FMTC, mutations may be found in exons 13–15 as well as some in exons 10 and 11. For MEN2B, 95% have a mutation in exon 16 (codon 918), at a site that is prone to somatic mutation in sporadic MTC (Fig. 4.7).30 There are data to suggest that there may be additional modifying factors, such as key RET single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), that impact on disease expression within a given genotype. These may be particularly relevant in the situation of RET mutations that result in relatively weak constitutive activation.31,32

Loss of function mutations in RET has been demonstrated in some kindreds with familial Hirschsprung’s disease. In contrast to the mutation hotspots noted in MEN2, these mutations are distributed throughout the gene.

Presentation

Presentation of MEN2A can be with any specific feature of the condition. MEN2B can present with additional signs or complications of ganglioneuromatosis (mucosal or gastrointestinal) prior to the development or recognition of an endocrinopathy. Some families present only with MTC.

Management

Medullary thyroid cancer

New cases of MEN2 presenting with MTC should be treated by thyroidectomy with central or more widespread node dissection, depending on pre- and perioperative staging. Thyroidectomy for MEN2B should include central node dissection. However, the aim of surgical management encompasses and is focused increasingly on prevention of MTC. Surgery for MTC in MEN2 should be performed before the age at which malignant progression occurs.34 Historically, this decision was based on basal and stimulated levels of the hormone calcitonin, produced by C-cells of the thyroid and a valuable tumour marker for MTC. However, this approach has an unacceptable sensitivity and specificity. Decisions on the timing of thyroidectomy in new cases of MEN2 without apparent MTC at presentation (such as those cases detected through genetic screening) should follow a stratified approach based on the genotype–phenotype relationships linking specific RET mutations with a specific natural history of MTC. Such an approach balances the earliest age at which MTC can present in association with a given RET genotype against the potential surgical morbidity of thyroidectomy at a young age (Fig. 4.8).

Accumulating experience suggests that a relatively conservative approach, involving serial monitoring, may be appropriate for some families harbouring ‘milder’ RET mutations.36 Some have proposed that this approach can be supported by using serial pentagastrin stimulation tests to assist decision-making on the timing of surgery.37

Persistence of elevated calcitonin levels following primary surgery should trigger radiological staging with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 111In pentetreotide scanning can detect somatostatin receptor-positive disease. Flurodopamine positron emission tomography (PET) is an additional sensitive modality for detection of occult recurrent MTC.38 Local recurrent or residual disease is the most common cause of persistently elevated tumour markers following primary treatment. In the absence of widespread distant disease, re-operation should be considered. If more distant metastatic disease is found, repeat surgery for tumour debulking should be considered for control of local pressure symptoms or those due to humoral factors secreted by the tumour.

Standard chemotherapy regimens are not particularly effective in the management of systemic metastatic disease. Novel agents targeting angiogenesis and components of the RET signalling pathway may prove to be beneficial in patients with disseminated disease.39 External beam radiotherapy can be used for the palliative treatment of bone metastases. However, metastatic MTC can remain asymptomatic, and conservative approaches to management coupled with regular biochemical surveillance of tumour load can result in good quality of life for many years.

Phaeochromocytoma

The principles of diagnosis and intervention should be similar to those applied to sporadic disease (see Chapter 3). However, it is important to exclude active phaeochromocytoma in any patient with suspected or established disease prior to surgical intervention for a separate or linked condition, in early pregnancy and prior to labour.

image

Analysis of timed overnight urine metanephrines, together with plasma metanephrines, provides the highest degree of sensitivity and specificity in biochemical diagnostic and surveillance programmes.40 Plasma metanephrines alone may generate significant false-positive screening data. Positive biochemistry should trigger appropriate imaging studies with MRI, supported by radionuclear imaging if necessary.

Surveillance and screening

Genetic testing

Diagnostic mutation analysis of the RET gene, involving sequencing of exons 10, 11 and 13–16, should be offered to patients with MEN2 to help determine optimum management of the index case and to inform biochemical and radiological screening strategies, and risk-reducing surgical strategies, for their relatives. Identification of an RET mutation in an index case should lead to a screening cascade for the same mutation within the family, beginning with first-degree relatives. It is important to undertake cascade testing at an early age to help management decisions, since MEN2 can manifest in childhood.

RET mutation analysis may also be helpful in those patients with atypical presentations (such as FMTC). In a family in which the clinical suspicion of MEN2 is high and in which no RET mutation is identified, more detailed genetic studies may be helpful in confirming association of the disease with the RET locus and in risk assessment. Such situations are unusual in MEN2A and MEN2B. In FMTC, absence of a detectable RET mutation has been described in up to 16% of families.

RET analysis should also be considered in all patients presenting with apparently sporadic single MEN2-related tumour features. For example, a significant proportion of individuals presenting with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid are found to have an RET mutation, whereas a much smaller proportion of individuals with adrenal phaeochromocytoma have an RET mutation.41,42 Failure to detect an RET mutation in a sporadic MTC patient leaves a residual probability of MEN2/FMTC, although in practice this is small. If DNA testing is to be offered in this context, it is important that issues of consent and data disclosure are addressed carefully in view of the potential consequences of identifying germ-line RET mutations for both the inidividual and other family members.

Biochemical and radiological surveillance

All patients with MEN2 or those identified as RET mutation carriers but yet to express the disease should have annual biochemical screening for endocrine components of the syndrome to detect new or recurrent disease:

In the high-risk groups (risk levels 1 and 2) biochemical screening should commence at the time of planning thyroidectomy. In remaining patients it should commence between the ages of 5 and 7 years. Catecholamine screening can be difficult in young children. Phaeochromocytoma has not been found in association with certain RET mutations involving codons 609, 768, 804 and 891. It is premature to omit catecholamine screening in these groups, though reduced surveillance frequency can be considered. Positive screening data should trigger appropriate imaging studies and intervention.

MEN2: differential diagnosis

Familial phaeochromocytoma/paraganglioma

Familial paraganglioma syndromes are autosomal dominant disorders characterised by the development of multiple and metachronous paragangliomas. Familial paraganglioma should be considered in any patient presenting with phaeochromocytoma or paraganglioma, in both sporadic cases and cases in which there is a family history of a similar tumour. Age at presentation varies from childhood to old age and expression is variable (see below). The spectrum of tumours includes carotid body and glomus jugulare tumours; patients and their affected relatives may therefore present to a wide range of clinical specialties including neurosurgery and head and neck surgery.

Genetics: Familial paraganglioma may result from predisposing mutations in an increasing number of genes. These genes fall into two main groups:

The molecular mechanisms for mutations in the KIF1B and TMEM127 genes are not well understood.44,45 Heterozygous loss of function germ-line mutations in SDHB, C and D have also ben identified in patients with the diad of paraganglioma and gastrointestinal stromal tumour (the Carney–Stratakis syndrome). This is an autosomal dominant condition with incomplete penetrance. Why some patients express this diad while others only express paraganglioma remains to be determined.46

Presentation: Familial paraganglioma syndromes can present with tumour in the head and neck, chest or abdomen. Not all paragangliomas are secretory. Only 5% of those occurring in the head and neck (such as those arising from the carotid body) are thought to secrete catecholamines and thus present with local symptoms. Functional paragangliomas and phaeochromocytomas present in the same manner as in sporadic disease, though the development of effective screening programmes in affected families is likely to lead to increasing detection in the asymptomatic phase.

Patients with familial paraganglioma due to mutations in the genes encoding succinate dehydrogenase subunits B, C and D (SDHB, SDHC, SDHD) can develop both phaeochromocytoma and paraganglioma.47 Paraganglioma in SDHB-related disease is usually intrathoracic or intra-abdominal. Malignant behaviour is relatively common. In contrast, paraganglioma in SDHD-related disease is generally confined to the head and neck and is usually biochemically silent. Familial paraganglioma due to mutations in the gene encoding SDHC presents with non-functioning head and neck tumours and/or phaeochromocytoma.48

Age-related, and site-specific, penetrance for SDHB and SDHD is shown in Tables 4.3 and 4.4; these figures may be an overestimate since they are derived from cross-sectional data in referral populations. Penetrance of SDHD and SDHAF2 mutations appears to be dependent upon parent of origin, a phenomenon known as ‘genomic imprinting’ (Fig. 4.9). The disease is not expressed if the mutation is inherited from a female, although exceptions have been reported.5153

Management: Functional tumours should be removed if possible. Partially excised locally aggressive and metastatic disease may benefit from treatment with [131I]metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG).54 Excision of non-functional tumours should be considered if there are significant local symptoms, or radiological evidence of growth on serial monitoring. The metachronous nature of the condition means that recurrences and the development of additional tumours are common.

Surveillance and screening:

Genetic testing: Index cases with phaeochromocytoma or paraganglioma – whether familial or apparently sporadic – should be offered diagnostic mutation analysis of predisposing genes. As a minimum, this should include SDHB and SDHD in addition to RET and VHL. Mulitigene assays including SDHAF2, TMEM127, KIF1B and MAX are available in many countries. The results help to define the risk of functional tumour to the patient and in developing genetic screening programmes for other members of the kindred. SDH gene mutations may be found in some 30% of patients presenting with apparent sporadic head and neck paraganglioma.55,56,57 Absence of a mutation may not exclude familial disease; all genetic test results should be interpreted in the context of full clinical and family history data. SDHB immunohistochemistry has recently been shown to be an effective way of identifying tumours that result from germ-line SDH gene mutation; this is helpful in individuals found to have novel sequence variants whose significance cannot be inferred from sequence data alone.58

Biochemical and radiological surveillance: Patients with SDHB, C and D mutations should undergo annual biochemical screening for functional tumours with urine or plasma metanephrines and plasma chromogranin A. At-risk relatives should also be offered biochemical surveillance unless the disease-causing mutation is known in the family and they have had a negative predictive test result. Non-functional tumours are only detectable through clinical and radiological assessment. Optimum strategies for imaging these patients have not yet been established.

SDHB mutations have been identified in a small proportion of families in which susceptibility to renal cell carcinoma segregates as an autosomal dominant trait.59 The opposite also appears to be true: individuals with an SDHB mutation ascertained through a family history of paraganglioma are also at risk of renal cell carcinoma; papillary thyroid cancer has also been described but does not appear to be a common feature.60 Renal surveillance has been suggested for patients with SDHB mutations, although the best screening modality has yet to be confirmed.

Carney–Stratakis syndrome

Heterozygous loss of function germ-line mutations in SDHB, C and D has also been identified in patients with the diad of paraganglioma and gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST), known as the Carney–Stratakis syndrome.61 This is a rare autosomal dominant condition with incomplete penetrance. GISTs in this syndrome demonstrate loss of SDHB immunostaining,62 which is a helpful diagnostic test in cases who have not yet developed a paraganglioma. Why some patients express this diad while others only express paraganglioma remains to be determined.

Familial hyperparathyroidism (FHP) syndromes

FHP without other features of endocrinopathy has been described extensively. However, advances in our understanding of the calcium receptor and its physiology, the recognition of additional phenotypes found in association with FHP, and the increased application of molecular diagnostics have led to the recognition that many cases may be manifestations of wider syndromes.

Familial isolated hyperparathyroidism (FIHP)

FIHP is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterised by uniglandular or multiglandular hyperparathyroidism in the absence of other endocrine disease and without evidence of jaw tumours.64 Recent data suggest that at least 20% of kindreds thought to have FIHP have inactivating mutations in MEN1, suggesting that a significant proportion of FIHP may represent a distinct variant of MEN1.65 Whether more intensive surveillance will detect other features of MEN1 in these kindreds over time remains unclear. FIHP in some kindreds may thus be a prelude to MEN1 or a skewed variant of MEN1.

Mutations in the CDC73 gene have also been described in some families with FIHP; the same gene is also implicated in the hyperparathyroidism–jaw tumour syndrome (see below).66 A further FIHP gene is thought to lie on chromosome 2, although the gene itself has yet to be identified.

Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia (FHH) and neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism (NSHP)

FHH is inherited as an autosomal dominant condition, and is characterised by lifelong mild to moderate hypercalcaemia that is generally asymptomatic, and normal-range values of parathyroid hormone (PTH). It is caused in many families by heterozygous loss-of-function mutation in the CASR gene, which encodes the calcium-sensing receptor. Gain-of-function mutations cause familial hypoparathyroidism, which is not considered further here. Identification of a mutation in this gene in an FHH family not only serves to confirm the diagnosis but allows accurate cascade screening of the family.67

FHH generally presents following detection of hypercalcaemia on routine testing, or on family screening of individuals with a family history. Calcium concentrations are consistent within a kindred. Although pancreatitis has been described as a complication of FHH, most patients in whom it has occurred have had additional risk factors. Renal excretion of calcium and magnesium is characteristically reduced, and the urine calcium:creatinine ratio is less than 0.01 in 80% of cases. The diagnostic value of the urine calcium:creatinine ratio is reduced in patients taking lithium and thiazide diuretics, both of which can reduce calcium excretion, and in mild PHP with concurrent vitamin D deficiency.

NSHP is usually caused by homozygous (the same mutation in both alleles) or compound heterozygous (different mutations in each of both alleles) mutations in the CASR gene (and is therefore an autosomal recessive disease), although de novo heterozygous mutations (i.e. new dominant mutations in the affected child) have been reported.68 The disease presents in the first week of life with anorexia, constipation, hypotonia and respiratory distress. There is severe hypercalcaemia (total calcium concentration 3.5–7.7 mmol/L), often with hypermagnesaemia. PTH can be significantly elevated. Skeletal radiology shows demineralisation and typical features of severe hyperparathyroidism. As NSHP can result from recessively inherited CASR mutations, there may be a history or biochemical evidence of FHH in one or both parents.

Familial hyperparathyoidism–jaw tumour syndrome (FHP-JT)

FHP-JT is an autosomal dominant condition caused in many families by mutations in the CDC73 gene (also known as HPRT2). Individuals with FHP-JT manifest variably with hyperparathyroidism, caused in most cases by parathyroid hyperplasia (cystic adenomas have been reported), and ossifying tumours (fibromas) of the mandible and maxilla.69 Polycystic kidney disease has also been described in families with this condition. Hyperparathyroidism presents as in sporadic cases. Jaw and maxillary tumours can be occult, and may only be apparent on screening by orthopantogram. Increased awareness of this condition has led to its recognition as the underlying problem in kindreds previously thought to have familial isolated hyperparathyroidism.70

Both somatic and germ-line mutations in CDC73 have been identified in patients with apparently sporadic parathyroid carcinoma, suggesting that some patients with this unusual tumour may represent a phenotypic variant of FHP-JT that behaves as a rare but typical ‘two-hit’ tumour predisposition syndrome.71

Management of PHP syndromes

Parathyroid surgery should be avoided in FHH, as the hypercalcaemia persists after parathyroidectomy. Efforts should therefore be made to exclude this diagnosis in all patients presenting with hypercalcaemia. Once FHH is diagnosed, it should be treated conservatively without intervention. Appropriate counselling as to the risk of NSHP in offspring should be given. Genetic testing for specific calcium receptor mutations may be useful in certain situations.

NSHP is managed by rigorous rehydration, inhibition of bone resorption with bisphosphonates, and respiratory support in the initial phase. Failure to respond should lead to total parathyroidectomy in the first month of life. Milder forms of the disease may stabilise with medical therapy alone, with progression to a phase resembling FHH after several months. Hyperparathyroidism in patients with FHP-JT and FIHP should be managed surgically in the same manner as sporadic disease. Family members should be offered biochemical screening for hyperparathyroidism and radiological screening for mandibular and maxillary tumours. Hypercalcaemic patients with a family history of multiglandular hyperparathyroidism should be offered total parathyroidectomy. Affected members of apparent FIHP kindreds should be offered genetic testing for MEN1 gene mutations and an orthopantogram. Additional studies of other members of affected kindreds can be considered if a positive diagnosis of an alternative syndrome (MEN1 or FHP-JT) is found in an index case.

Von Hippel–Lindau disease

Von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant familial syndrome characterised by the metachronous development of multiple benign and malignant tumours. It may occur in an individual as the result of a new mutation. Incidence is of the order of 1 in 40 000 and there is variable penetrance and expression.72 Key features are central nervous system haemangioblastoma, renal cell carcinoma and phaeochromocytoma. A number of additional lesions are recognised (Table 4.5).

Table 4.5

Clinical characteristics of von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) disease: age at presentation and frequency of expression

Tumour Age at presentation (years) Frequency of expression (%)
Retinal haemangioblastoma 1–67 25–60
Cerebellar haemangioblastoma 9–78 44–72
Brainstem haemangioblastoma 12–46 10–25
Spinal cord haemangioblastoma 12–66 13–50
CNS haemangioblastoma (miscellaneous) < 1
Renal cell carcinoma or cysts 16–67 25–60
Phaeochromocytoma 5–58 10–20
Pancreatic tumour or cysts 5–70 35–70
Endolymphatic sac tumours 12–50 10
Epididymal cystadenoma Unknown 25–60
Broad ligament cystadenoma Unknown Unknown

Genetics

VHL disease results from a germ-line mutation in the VHL tumour suppressor gene situated at the chromosomal locus 3p25-26 (Fig. 4.10). The products of the VHL gene (a 213-amino-acid, 18-kDa protein and a truncated 160-amino-acid, 18-kDa protein arising from an alternative translational start site) are important components in the pathway targeting intracellular proteins for degradation via proteasomes as part of the integrated cellular response to hypoxia. The tumours seen in VHL are vascular with pronounced angiogenesis. Their cells exhibit over-expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Production of VEGF is mediated by a pathway of hypoxia detection involving the VHL protein and the elongin complex. Many hypoxia-inducible genes are controlled by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). HIF is composed of an α subunit and a β subunit. The HIF α subunit is degraded if oxygen is present; this requires functioning VHL protein.

VHL disease has been divided into four subtypes on the basis of clinical presentation, as depicted in Box 4.1. To date, endolymphatic sac tumours and cystadenomas of the epididymis and broad ligament have not been assigned to a specific disease subtype. Within this classification there is evidence of genotype–phenotype correlation. Patients with type 1 VHL are most likely to have deletions or premature termination mutations. Those with type 2 VHL are more likely to have missense mutations.73 Expression of subtype phenotype tends to be consistent within a given family. Mutations in VHL are found in the majority of families with VHL disease.

Presentation

VHL disease has two major endocrine manifestations: phaeochromocytoma and pancreatic islet-cell tumours.74 Phaeochromocytoma associated with VHL disease is pathologically distinct from that occurring as part of MEN2. Tumours have a thick vascular capsule, and contain small to medium-sized tumour cells interspersed with multiple small blood vessels. There is no evidence of adrenomedullary hyperplasia outwith the tumour, as can be found in MEN2.75 Clinical presentation of phaeochromocytoma is similar to that in sporadic and other familial forms. However, compared with tumours associated with MEN2, patients presenting with phaeochromocytoma as part of VHL disease have fewer symptoms. This clinical observation correlates with lower tumour catecholamine content and reduced expression of tyrosine hydroxylase.76 Increasingly, presentation is with asymptomatic disease detected through routine biochemical and radiological screening. Tumours can be multiple and extra-adrenal.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma in VHL disease follows the principles established in sporadic and other forms of familial disease: clinical suspicion, genetic and biochemical testing, and radiological localisation. Phaeochromocytoma associated with VHL disease has a predominantly noradrenergic phenotype. Urine catecholamine excretion can be normal, as can plasma metanephrines. A combination of elevated plasma normetanephrines together with normal plasma metanephrines is highly suggestive of VHL-associated phaeochromocytoma.76 Localisation of biochemical disease can employ MRI, CT and radioisotope scanning.77 Adrenal and extra-adrenal masses detected on routine radiological surveillance for renal cell carcinoma should trigger appropriate testing to exclude phaeochromocytoma, with initial biochemical testing followed by further complementary radiological or radioisotope studies.

Surveillance and screening

Genetic

Index cases should be offered genetic testing. These data may help to guide subtype classification and will enable cascade predictive genetic testing within the wider family. VHL gene analysis should form part of the assessment of patients with apparent sporadic phaeochromocytoma,42 although the genotype–phenotype correlation is not robust enough to enable the broader phenotype to be predicted with accuracy in those patients presenting found to have VHL mutations. Comparisons of the relative effectiveness of molecular and clinical approaches in this situation are required.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours in VHL disease

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours associated with VHL disease are usually detected during radiological surveillance (CT and MRI). Though they may demonstrate immunopositivity for a variety of pancreatic hormones and neuroendocrine markers, they are clinically silent. Endoscopic ultrasound and 111In-labelled somatostatin scintigraphy can be helpful in differentiating neuroendocrine tumours from pancreatic cysts and cystadenomas, which also occur in VHL disease. Surgical excision has been recommended on the following bases:

Those tumours below the threshold for surgery should be monitored radiologically at regular (initially annual) intervals.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)

NF178 is an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder with predominant neurological, cutaneous, ophthalmic and skeletal manifestations. Prevalence is estimated at 1 in 3500. Fifty per cent of cases are sporadic, and the disease is usually 100% penetrant by 5 years of age. NF1 can be segmental, due to a postzygotic somatic mutation. Expression is variable.

Two or more of the following criteria are required for a diagnosis of NF1:

Phaeochromocytoma occurs in approximately 1% of patients with NF1. It is rare in adolescence and extremely rare in children with NF1. Tumours can be bilateral. An increased risk of carcinoid tumour and gastrointestinal stromal timour is also reported. Neurofibromatosis type 2 is not associated with phaeochromocytoma.

Management

Management should follow the same principles as those of sporadic disease (see Chapter 3). Patients with NF1 should have annual biochemical screening for phaeochromocytoma with analysis of timed overnight urine catecholamine production.

Familial non-medullary thyroid cancer syndromes

PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome

Mutations in the PTEN gene cause a number of phenotypes that are collectively known as the PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome.79 Cowden’s syndrome (CS) – the commonest presentation – is an autosomal dominant inherited cancer syndrome, originally described in adults and characterised by three main groups of abnormalities:

The International Cowden Syndrome Consortium has defined operational criteria for the diagnosis of CS (Box 4.2). In the absence of a family history of CS, a diagnosis can be made on mucocutaneous findings alone if any of the following criteria are met:

In the absence of a family history and mucocutaneous signs, a diagnosis of CS can be made if two major criteria (at least one of which is macrocephaly or LDD) or one major together with three minor criteria are present. If there is a family history of CS, the diagnosis can be made if the pathognomonic mucocutaneous criteria are present, a single major criterion is present, or two minor criteria are present.

Expression of CS is varied. Penetrance is age dependent, increasing from less than 10% under the age of 20 years to nearly 100% for cutaneous stigmata by the third decade. Thyroid abnormalities occur in 50–67% of CS patients, with a lifetime thyroid cancer risk of around 10%. Benign breast disease affects up to 67% of women; the lifetime breast cancer risk is 85%, with 50% penetrance by age 50. The lifetime endometrial cancer risk is approximately 28%.80

Bannayan–Zonana syndrome (also called Ruvalcaba–Mhyre–Smith or Bannayan–Riley–Ruvalcaba syndrome) is a rarer manifestation of PTEN mutation, described in children, that presents as an autosomal dominant condition characterised by intestinal polyps, haemangiomas and lipomas, café-au-lait patches on the penis and macrocephaly.81 Other features are breast cancer, lipid storage disorder, protein-losing enteropathy and thyroid disease including thyroid cancer. CS and Bannayan–Zonana syndrome have both been shown to be caused by mutations in PTEN. There are some reports of both occurring in the same family as differing manifestations of the same PTEN mutation.82 It is not understood why penetrance and expression of mutations in PTEN can be so variable.

Surveillance and screening

Familial papillary thyroid cancer

Between 3% and 13% of patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) have a relative affected by papillary, follicular or mixed papillary/follicular thyroid cancer. The fact that telomeres appear to be shorter in some families with a cluster of non- medullary thyroid cancers (PTC), compared to sporadic cases, suggests that some family clusters are the result of a discrete inherited cancer predisposition syndrome.83 Familial PTC is often more aggressive than its sporadic counterpart, and in keeping with other tumour predisposition syndromes, the disease can be multifocal.

While somatic rearrangements of RET and NTRK1 are common findings in PTC, the genetic basis for familial disease remains unclear. Putative susceptibility loci have been mapped to chromosomes 2q21 and 19p13.2, although the genes themselves remain elusive.84,85

Familial adenomatous poylposis (FAP)

Genetics

FAP (also sometimes referred to as Gardner syndrome) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in the APC gene and characterised by the occurrence of multiple gastrointestinal adenomatous polyps in association with osteomas, epidermoid cysts, desmoid tumours and retinal pigmentation. Hepatoblastomas and adenomas of the upper gastrointestinal tract and pancreas are more unusual components of the syndrome. Expression is variable, though the disease is usually penetrant in the third decade. In families with classical disease, colorectal adenocarcinoma is usual by early adulthood unless prophylactic colectomy can be undertaken. FAP is associated with an increased risk of thyroid neoplasia, particularly for women. However, the risk is sufficiently low (affecting approximately 1% of those with FAP) that – apart from an awareness of the risk – it is unnecessary to organise a screening programme of the thyroid gland.86 There is some evidence of familial aggregation of thyroid cancer in FAP: for such rare families it is important to raise awareness and consider screening.

Familial adrenocortical disease

Familial predisposition to adrenocortical carcinoma

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is very unusual in children and young adults. When it does occur in childhood, a tumour predisposition syndrome is likely. ACC in this context is often a manifestation of the Li–Fraumeni syndrome: an autosomal dominant familial cancer syndrome caused by heterozygosity for germ-line loss of function mutations in the TP53 tumour supressor gene.87 In a series of 14 such cases, nine were shown to be due to TP53 and two were likely to have TP53 mutations that could not be identified. The one case not due to a TP53 mutation occurred in a child with Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome, a familial cancer predisposition syndrome resulting in over-expression of the paracrine growth factor insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2). ACC has also been described as a rare feature of FAP (see above), although there remains some doubt as to whether this represents a true or apparent phenomenon.

Carney syndrome

Carney syndrome is a multiple neoplasia syndrome with cardiac, cutaneous, endocrine and nervous system manifestations.88 It is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Sixty per cent of affected kindreds harbour an inactivating mutation in the tumour suppressor gene PRKAR1A, which codes for the type 1α regulatory subunit of protein kinase A.89 A second Carney syndrome gene has been localised to chromosome 2, but the gene itself has not been identified.

Presentation

Carney syndrome can present with single or multiple, synchronous or metachronous clinical and pathological features, each of which are unusual in isolation:

Adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-independent Cushing’s syndrome is the most common endocrinopathy in Carney syndrome, and is present in up to 30% of cases. Presentation is generally in childhood and young adulthood. The underlying pathology, primary pigmented nodular adrenal hyperplasia (PPNAD), rarely occurs outside the disease. The adrenal glands are not enlarged and contain multiple pigmented nodules scattered throughout a characteristically atrophic cortex. These nodules may be visible on preoperative imaging. Acromegaly develops in 10% of cases and has been mainly due to pituitary macroadenoma. Prospective screening may alter this pattern. Testicular tumours occur in 30% of affected males, and may lead to precocious puberty. Thyroid and ovarian tumours also develop with increased frequency.

Familial isolated PPNAD and familial isolated atrial myxoma represent rare familial disorders in which a single manifestation of Carney syndrome segregates as a familial trait. PPNAD families have been described with mutations in the PRKAR1A, PDE11A or PDE8B genes.90 Familial isolated atrial myxoma families have been described with mutations in the PRKAR1A gene.91

Management

Approximately 60% of patients with Carney syndrome have a mutation in the PRKAR1A gene.92 Identification of a mutation in this gene not only serves to confirm the diagnosis but allows accurate cascade screening of the family. Mutation analysis of PRKAR1A is available in several laboratories worldwide. Individual features of the syndrome should be managed as in sporadic disease. Presentation of cortisol excess may be atypical and indolent. Diagnosis of Carney syndrome should trigger periodic clinical, biochemical and radiological screening for additional features, with the aim of reducing associated morbidity.

Familial ACTH-independent adrenal hyperplasia

The hypothalamo-pituitary regulation of glucocorticoid production is mediated through ACTH binding to its cognate G-protein-coupled receptor on the plasma membrane of steroidogenic cells of the zona fasciculata and reticularis of the adrenal cortex. Introduction of other, non-ACTH G-protein-coupled receptors to the regulatory pathway controlling steroidogenesis within the adrenal cortex would uncouple the process from the negative feedback loops that maintain normal glucocorticoid production. ACTH-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (AIMAH) is an endogenous form of adrenal Cushing syndrome characterised by multiple bilateral adrenocortical nodules resulting from the ectopic expression of G-protein-coupled receptors on adrenocortical cells that activate steroidogenesis but are not under the influence of negative feedback.93 Although some familial cases have been reported, nearly all AIMAH cases appear to be sporadic, arising from somatic mutation of the GNAS1 gene and constitutive activation of the G-protein.94 Bilateral adrenocortical nodular hyperplasia can also be found in McCune–Albright syndrome, which is also caused by mutation in the GNAS1 gene. The cause of familial AIMAH has not been elucidated.

Familial hyperaldosteronism

Familial hyperaldosteronism type 1 (FHA1) and type 2 (FHA2) are rare autosomal dominant disorders of aldosterone excess.

Presentation

FHA1 constitutes 1–3% of all cases of primary hyperaldosteronism.95 Unlike other forms of hyperaldosteronism, it is present from birth and has no gender bias. It is characterised by moderate to severe hypertension and elevated aldosterone/renin ratios (though this is not specific). Many patients are normokalaemic. The diagnosis should be considered in any patient presenting with hypertension under the age of 25 years. A strong family history of hypertension is not always apparent. There may be a prominent family history of haemorrhagic stroke. Many patients do not respond to conventional antihypertensive agents, or develop hypokalaemia on potassium-wasting diuretics. The cause is a well-documented fusion of the regulatory component of the CYP11B1 (steroid hydroxylase) gene to the coding region of the adjacent CYP11B2 (aldosterone synthase) gene, which effectively couples aldosterone synthesis to a steroid-responsive control element.96 Diagnostic genetic testing for this fusion gene is widely available. Diagnosis is supported by suppression of aldosterone to undetectable levels during a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (0.5 mg dexamethasone 6-hourly for 48 hours), giving rise to the alternative terms for this condition of glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism and steroid-suppressible hyperaldosteronism.

FHA2 is not suppressible by dexamethasone and is mechanistically distinct from FHA1. It is caused by germ-line mutations in the potassium ion channel gene KCNJ2.97 It is clinically, biochemically and pathologically indistinguishable from non-familial primary hyperaldosteronism, in which somatic KCNJ2 mutations have also been described. Mutations appear to cause increased sodium conductance and cell depolarisation in adrenal glomerulosa cells, resulting in calcium influx, which signals aldosterone production and cellular proliferation.

Management

Traditional therapy for FHA1 has been with glucocorticoids to suppress adrenocorticotropin drive to the chimaeric 11β-hydroxylase-aldosterone synthase gene. Long-standing hypertension may not respond fully to this approach. Moreover, excessive suppression with glucocorticoids may result in comorbidity, especially in young children. Mineralocorticoid antagonists and dihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers are alternative approaches.

Management of FHA2 should follow the same principles as that of primary hyperaldosteronism, balancing surgical and medical approaches dependent upon localisation studies against the response to antihypertensive therapy with amiloride, mineralocorticoid antagonists and/or dihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers (see Chapter 3).

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