Review of endocrine syndromes associated with tumours of non-endocrine origin

The parathyroid oxyphil cells

“…Pulmonary neoplasms are particularly prone to produce electrolyte abnormalities (Freedman, 1966;Hobbs and Miller, 1966). In this series the average oxyphil cell count for cases of cancer of the lung far exceeds that for neoplasms in general and one third of the cases have a score exceeding 400 x 103 sq.,4gland.…”

Ectopic Production of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin by Human Breast Tumours

“…This stored hormone is released when malignant cells of an enlarging tumour are broken down. The third view (Hobbs and Miller, 1966) suggests that the malignant cells revert to the synthesis of various [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] peptides by inactivation of histone repressor or deletion of a regulator gene that is normally thought to produce a repressor which combines with the operator slowing the manufacture of a messenger RNA molecule. According to this theory, the hormone produced by the tumour may be very similar to the natural hormone.…”

Para-Endocrine Tumor Activity with Emphasis on Ectopic ADH Secretion

“…In malignant tissues of a patient with bronchogenic carcinoma, but without overt evidence of para-endocrinopathy, insulin and glucagon could be extracted from the tumor. Because biologically the two hormones counteract each other neither hypoglycemia nor hyperglycemia developed in this patient [50], Nevertheless, measurement of either serum insulin or glucagon activity might have disclosed the patient's endocrinopathy and warranted earlier diagnostic and therapeutic efforts. Cyclic ectopic hormone production may present a screening problem; measurable ACTH production occurred in 2-to 3-week intervals, as reported in one case with a bronchogenic carcinoid tumor [3], Such a hormonal production rhythm has not yet been reported in any other study with para-endocrine active tumors; circadian ectopic hormone secretion appears rather unlikely because para-endocrine activity is autonomous, i.e.…”