help button home button The Oncologist
HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Oncologist, Vol. 13, No. 5, 548-561, May 2008; doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2007-0243
© 2008 AlphaMed Press

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow eLetters: Submit a response to this article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article link to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Reprints/Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Soon, P. S. H.
Right arrow Articles by Sidhu, S. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Soon, P. S. H.
Right arrow Articles by Sidhu, S. B.

Endocrinology

Molecular Markers and the Pathogenesis of Adrenocortical Cancer

Patsy S. H. Soona,b, Kerrie L. McDonalda, Bruce G. Robinsona,c, Stan B. Sidhua,d

aCancer Genetics, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, bDepartment of Surgery, Bankstown Hospital and University of New South Wales, cDepartment of Endocrinology, and dDepartment of Endocrine and Oncology Surgery, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, Australia and University of Sydney

Key Words. Adrenocortical carcinoma • Adrenocortical adenoma • Adrenocortical tumors • Molecular marker

Correspondence: Stan Sidhu, MBBS, PhD, FRACS, Department of Endocrine and Oncology Surgery, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia. Telephone: 61-2-94371731; Fax: 61-2-99268523; e-mail: stansidhu{at}nebsc.com.au

Received December 12, 2007; accepted for publication March 24, 2008.

Disclosure: No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.

Adrenal tumors are common, with an estimated incidence of 7.3% in autopsy cases, while adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs) are rare, with an estimated prevalence of 4–12 per million population. Because the prognoses for adrenocortical adenomas (ACAs) and ACCs are vastly different, it is important to be able to accurately differentiate the two tumor types. Advancement in the understanding of the pathophysiology of ACCs is essential for the development of more sensitive means of diagnosis and treatment, resulting in better clinical outcome. Adrenocortical tumors (ACTs) occur as a component of several hereditary tumor syndromes, which include the Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, multiple endocrine neoplasia 1, Carney complex, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The genes involved in these syndromes have also been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of sporadic ACTs. The adrenocorticotropic hormone–cAMP–protein kinase A and Wnt pathways are also implicated in adrenocortical tumorigenesis. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in adrenocortical tumorigenesis, including results of comparative genomic hybridization, loss of heterozygosity, and microarray gene-expression profiling studies.






HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE ONCOLOGIST STEM CELLS CME ALPHAMED PRESS JOURNALS


Copyright © 2008 by AlphaMed Press.