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The most common clinical features of MEN2B are:
Unlike Marfan syndrome, the cardiovascular system and the lens of the eye are unaffected.Mucosal neuromas are the most consistent and distinctive feature, appearing in 100% of patients. Usually there are numerous yellowish-white, sessile, painless nodules on the lips or tongue, with deeper lesions having normal coloration. There may be enough neuromas in the body of the lips to produce enlargement and a "blubbery lip" appearance. Similar nodules may be seen on the sclera and eyelids.
Histologically, neuromata contain a characteristic adventitious plaque of tissue composed of hyperplastic, interlacing bands of Schwann cells and myelinated fibers overlay the posterior columns of the spinal cord. Mucosal neuromas are made up of nerve cells, often with thickened perineurium, intertwined with one another in a plexiform pattern. This tortuous pattern of nerves is seen within a background of loose endoneurium-like fibrous stroma.
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (also known as "MEN2B", "Mucosal neuromata with endocrine tumors", "Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 3", and "Wagenmann–Froboese syndrome") is a genetic disease that causes multiple tumors on the mouth, eyes, and endocrine glands. It is the most severe type of multiple endocrine neoplasia, differentiated by the presence of benign oral and submucosal tumors in addition to endocrine malignancies. It was first described by Wagenmann in 1922, and was first recognized as a syndrome in 1965-1966 by E.D. Williams and D.J. Pollock.
MEN 2B typically manifests before a child is 10 years old. Affected individuals tend to be tall and lanky, with an elongated face and protruding, blubbery lips. Benign tumors (neoplasms) develop in the mouth, eyes, and submucosa of almost all organs in the first decade of life.
Medullary thyroid cancer almost always occurs, sometimes in infancy. It is often aggressive. Cancer of the adrenal glands (pheochromocytoma) occurs in 50% of cases.
A variety of eponyms have been proposed for MEN 2B, such as Williams-Pollock syndrome, Gorlin-Vickers syndrome, and Wagenmann-Froboese syndrome. However, none ever gained sufficient traction to merit continued use, and are no longer used in the medical literature.
The prevalence of MEN2B is not well established, but has been derived from other epidemiological considerations as 1 in 600,000 to 1 in 4,000,000. The annual incidence has been estimated at 4 per 100 million per year.
Hyperparathyroidism is present in ≥ 90% of patients. Asymptomatic hypercalcemia is the most common manifestation: about 25% of patients have evidence of nephrolithiasis or nephrocalcinosis. In contrast to sporadic cases of hyperparathyroidism, diffuse hyperplasia or multiple adenomas are more common than solitary adenomas.
Pancreatic islet cell tumors occur in 60 to 70% of patients. Tumors are usually multicentric. Multiple adenomas or diffuse islet cell hyperplasia commonly occurs; such tumors may arise from the small bowel rather than the pancreas. About 30% of tumors are malignant and have local or distant metastases. Malignant islet cell tumors due to MEN 1 syndrome often have a more benign course than do sporadically occurring malignant islet cell tumors.About 40% of islet cell tumors originate from a β-cell, secrete insulin (insulinoma), and can cause fasting hypoglycemia. β-cell tumors are more common in patients 40 years of age. Non-β-cell tumors are somewhat more likely to be malignant.
Most islet cell tumors secrete pancreatic polypeptide, the clinical significance of which is unknown. Gastrin is secreted by many non–β-cell tumors (increased gastrin secretion in MEN 1 also often originates from the duodenum). Increased gastrin secretion increases gastric acid, which may inactivate pancreatic lipase, leading to diarrhea and steatorrhea. Increased gastrin secretion also leads to peptic ulcers in > 50% of MEN 1 patients. Usually the ulcers are multiple or atypical in location, and often bleed, perforate, or become obstructed. Peptic ulcer disease may be intractable and complicated. Among patients presenting with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, 20 to 60% have MEN 1.
A severe secretory diarrhea can develop and cause fluid and electrolyte depletion with non–β-cell tumors. This complex, referred to as the watery diarrhea, hypokalemia and achlorhydria syndrome (VIPoma) has been ascribed to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, although other intestinal hormones or secretagogues (including prostaglandins) may contribute. Hypersecretion of glucagon, somatostatin, chromogranin, or calcitonin, ectopic secretion of ACTH resulting in Cushing's syndrome, and hypersecretion of somatotropin–releasing hormone (causing acromegaly) sometimes occur in non–β-cell tumors. All of these are rare in MEN 1.Nonfunctioning pancreatic tumors also occur in patients with MEN 1 and may be the most common type of pancreatoduodenal tumor in MEN 1. The size of the nonfunctioning tumor correlates with risk of metastasis and death.
MEN2 can present with a sign or symptom related to a tumor or, in the case of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2b, with characteristic musculoskeletal and/or lip and/or gastrointestinal findings.Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) represent the most frequent initial diagnosis. Occasionally pheochromocytoma or primary hyperparathyroidism may be the initial diagnosis.
Pheochromocytoma occurs in 33-50% of MEN2 cases. In MEN2A, primary hyperparathyroidism occurs in 10–50% of cases and is usually diagnosed after the third decade of life. Rarely, it may present in childhood or be the sole clinical manifestation of this syndrome.
MEN2A associates medullary thyroid carcinoma with pheochromocytoma in about 20–50% of cases and with primary hyperparathyroidism in 5–20% of cases.MEN2B associates medullary thyroid carcinoma with pheochromocytoma in 50% of cases, with marfanoid habitus and with mucosal and digestive neurofibromatosis.
In familial isolated medullary thyroid carcinoma the other components of the disease are absent.
In a review of 85 patients 70 had Men2A and 15 had Men2B. The initial manifestation of MEN2 was medullary thyroid carcinoma in 60% of patients, medullary thyroid carcinoma synchronous with pheochromocytoma in 34% and pheochromocytoma alone in 6%. 72% had bilateral pheochromocytomas.
The term multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) encompasses several distinct syndromes featuring tumors of endocrine glands, each with its own characteristic pattern. In some cases, the tumors are malignant, in others, benign. Benign or malignant tumors of nonendocrine tissues occur as components of some of these tumor syndromes.
MEN syndromes are inherited as autosomal dominant disorders.
As noted, all types of MEN2 include pheochromocytoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma.
MEN2A is additionally characterized by the presence of parathyroid hyperplasia.
MEN2B is additionally characterized by the presence of mucocutaneous neuroma, gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g. constipation and flatulence), and muscular hypotonia.
MEN2B can present with a Marfanoid habitus.
Although not officially categorized as multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes, Von Hippel-Lindau disease and Carney complex are two other autosomal dominant endocrine tumor syndromes with features that overlap the clinical features of the MEN syndromes. Although not transmitted in the germline, McCune-Albright syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by endocrine neoplastic features involving endocrine glands that overlap with those involved in MEN1 or MEN2.
About 85% of paragangliomas develop in the abdomen; only 12% develop in the chest and 3% in the head and neck region (the latter are the most likely to be symptomatic). While most are single, rare multiple cases occur (usually in a hereditary syndrome). Paragangliomas are described by their site of origin and are often given special names:
- Carotid paraganglioma (carotid body tumor): Is the most common of the head and neck paragangliomas. It usually presents as a painless neck mass, but larger tumors may cause cranial nerve palsies, usually of the vagus nerve and hypoglossal nerve.
- Organ of Zuckerkandl: A collection of paraganglia near the bifurcation of the aorta, comprising a small mass of neural crest-derived chromaffin cells. Serves as a common origin of abdominal paragangliomas.
- Glomus tympanicum and Glomus jugulare: Both commonly present as a middle ear mass resulting in tinnitus (in 80%) and hearing loss (in 60%). The cranial nerves of the jugular foramen may be compressed, resulting swallowing difficulty, or ipsilateral weakness of the upper trapezius and sternocleiodomastoid muscles (from compression of the spinal accessory nerve). These patients present with a reddish bulge behind an intact ear drum. This condition is also known as the "Red drum". On application of pressure to the external ear canal with the help of a pneumatic ear speculum the mass could be seen to blanch. This sign is known as "Brown's sign". A deficient bony plate along the tympanic portion of the internal carotid artery (aberrant ICA) is a normal variant and can be mistaken with glomus jugulare.
- Vagal paraganglioma: These are the least common of the head and neck paragangliomas. They usually present as a painless neck mass, but may result in dysphagia and hoarseness.
- Pulmonary paraganglioma: These occur in the lung and may be either single or multiple.
- Other sites: Rare sites of involvement are the larynx, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, thyroid gland, and the thoracic inlet, as well as the bladder in extremely rare cases.
Most paragangliomas are either asymptomatic or present as a painless mass. While all contain neurosecretory granules, only in 1–3% of cases is secretion of hormones such as catecholamines abundant enough to be clinically significant; in that case manifestations often resemble those of pheochromocytomas (intra-medullary paraganglioma).
Pheochromocytoma (PCC) is a neuroendocrine tumor of the medulla of the adrenal glands (originating in the chromaffin cells), or extra-adrenal chromaffin tissue that failed to involute after birth, that secretes high amounts of catecholamines, mostly norepinephrine, plus epinephrine to a lesser extent. Extra-adrenal paragangliomas (often described as extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas) are closely related, though less common, tumors that originate in the ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system and are named based upon the primary anatomical site of origin. The term is from Greek "phaios" "dark", "chroma" "color", "kytos" "cell", "-oma" "tumor".
The signs and symptoms of a pheochromocytoma are those of sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity, including:
- Skin sensations
- Flank pain
- Elevated heart rate
- Elevated blood pressure, including paroxysmal (sporadic, episodic) high blood pressure, which sometimes can be more difficult to detect; another clue to the presence of pheochromocytoma is orthostatic hypotension (a fall in systolic blood pressure greater than 20 mmHg or a fall in diastolic blood pressure greater than 10 mmHg upon standing)
- Palpitations
- Anxiety often resembling that of a panic attack
- Diaphoresis (excessive sweating)
- Headaches – most common symptom
- Pallor
- Weight loss
- Localized amyloid deposits found microscopically
- Elevated blood glucose level (due primarily to catecholamine stimulation of lipolysis (breakdown of stored fat) leading to high levels of free fatty acids and the subsequent inhibition of glucose uptake by muscle cells. Further, stimulation of beta-adrenergic receptors leads to glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis and thus elevation of blood glucose levels).
A pheochromocytoma can also cause resistant arterial hypertension. A pheochromocytoma can be fatal if it causes a hypertensive emergency, that is, severely high blood pressure that impairs one or more organ systems (formerly called "malignant hypertension"). This hypertension is not well controlled with standard blood pressure medications.
Not all patients experience all of the signs and symptoms listed. The most common presentation is headache, excessive sweating, and increased heart rate, with the attack subsiding in less than one hour.
Tumors may grow large, but most are smaller than .
Marfanoid (or Marfanoid habitus) is a constellation of symptoms resembling those of Marfan syndrome, including long limbs, with an arm span that exceeds the height of the individual, and a crowded oral maxilla, sometimes with a high arch in the palate, arachnodactyly, and hyperlaxity.
Associated conditions include:
- Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B
- Homocystinuria
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Possibly Asperger syndrome
Swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck is the initial presentation in many people, and the diagnosis of NPC is often made by lymph node biopsy. Signs and symptoms related to the primary tumor include trismus, pain, otitis media, nasal regurgitation due to paresis (loss of or impaired movement) of the soft palate, hearing loss and cranial nerve palsy (paralysis). Larger growths may produce nasal obstruction or bleeding and a "nasal twang". Metastatic spread may result in bone pain or organ dysfunction. Rarely, a paraneoplastic syndrome of osteoarthropathy (diseases of joints and bones) may occur with widespread disease.
The first symptoms of neuroblastoma are often vague making diagnosis difficult. Fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, and joint pain are common. Symptoms depend on primary tumor locations and metastases if present:
- In the abdomen, a tumor may cause a swollen belly and constipation.
- A tumor in the chest may cause breathing problems.
- A tumor pressing on the spinal cord may cause weakness and thus an inability to stand, crawl, or walk.
- Bone lesions in the legs and hips may cause pain and limping.
- A tumor in the bones around the eyes or orbits may cause distinct bruising and swelling.
- Infiltration of the bone marrow may cause pallor from anemia.
Neuroblastoma often spreads to other parts of the body before any symptoms are apparent and 50 to 60% of all neuroblastoma cases present with metastases.
The most common location for neuroblastoma to originate (i.e., the primary tumor) is in the adrenal glands. This occurs in 40% of localized tumors and in 60% of cases of widespread disease. Neuroblastoma can also develop anywhere along the sympathetic nervous system chain from the neck to the pelvis. Frequencies in different locations include: neck (1%), chest (19%), abdomen (30% non-adrenal), or pelvis (1%). In rare cases, no primary tumor can be discerned.
Rare but characteristic presentations include transverse myelopathy (tumor spinal cord compression, 5% of cases), treatment-resistant diarrhea (tumor vasoactive intestinal peptide secretion, 4% of cases), Horner's syndrome (cervical tumor, 2.4% of cases), opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome and ataxia (suspected paraneoplastic cause, 1.3% of cases), and hypertension (catecholamine secretion or renal artery compression, 1.3% of cases).
Nasopharynx cancer or nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common cancer originating in the nasopharynx, most commonly in the postero-lateral nasopharynx or pharyngeal recess or 'Fossa of Rosenmüller' accounting for 50% cases. NPC occurs in children and adults. NPC differs significantly from other cancers of the head and neck in its occurrence, causes, clinical behavior, and treatment. It is vastly more common in certain regions of East Asia and Africa than elsewhere, with viral, dietary and genetic factors implicated in its causation. It is most common in males. It is a squamous cell carcinoma or an undifferentiated type. Squamous epithelial cells are a flat type of cell found in the skin and the membranes that line some body cavities. Differentiation means how different the cancer cells are from normal cells. "Undifferentiated cells" are cells that do not have their mature features or functions.
In about 90% of cases of neuroblastoma, elevated levels of catecholamines or their metabolites are found in the urine or blood. Catecholamines and their metabolites include dopamine, homovanillic acid (HVA), and/or vanillylmandelic acid (VMA).
The variable presentation of ROHHAD includes the following main symptoms:
- Hyperphagia and obesity by age of 10 years - (median age 3 years);
- Respiratory Manifestations:
- Alveolar Hypoventilation (median onset age 6.2 years);
- Cardiorespiratory arrest;
- Reduced Carbon Dioxide Ventilatory Response;
- Obstructive sleep apnea.
- Thermal or other hypothalamic dysregulations, with autonomic dysregulation by median age 3.6 years:
- Failed Growth Hormone Stimulation;
- Adipsic hypernatremia (inability to feel thirst to keep normal hydration);
- Hypernatremia;
- Hyperprolactinemia;
- Hyperphagia;
- Diabetes insipidus;
- Ophthalmologic Manifestations;
- Thermal Dysregulation;
- Gastrointestinal dysmotility;
- Altered Perception of Pain;
- Altered Sweating;
- Cold Hands and Feet.
- Neurobehavioral disorders;
- Tumors of neural crest origin.
Clinically overlapping cases exist because CCHS phenotype can also include autonomic nervous system dysregulation, or tumors of neural crest origin.
Although it may be asymptomatic, symptoms usually are more likely to be present and more severe with larger tongue enlargements. Signs and symptoms include:
- Dyspnea - difficult, noisy breathing, obstructive sleep apnea or airway obstruction
- Dysphagia - difficulty swallowing and eating
- Dysphonia - disrupted speech, possibly manifest as lisping
- Sialorrhea - drooling
- Angular cheilitis - sores at the corners of the mouth
- Crenated tongue - indentations on the lateral borders of the tongue caused by pressure from teeth ("pie crust tongue")
- Open bite malocclusion - a type of malocclusion of the teeth
- Mandibular prognathism - enlarged mandible
- Mouth breathing
- Orthodontic abnormalities - including diastema and tooth spacing
A tongue that constantly protrudes from the mouth is vulnerable to drying out, ulceration, infection or even necrosis.
Macroglossia may be caused by a wide variety of congenital and acquired conditions. Isolated macroglossia has no determinable cause. The most common causes of tongue enlargement are vascular malformations (e.g. lymphangioma or hemangioma) and muscular hypertrophy (e.g. Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome or hemihyperplasia). Enlargement due to lymphangioma gives the tongue a pebbly appearance with multiple superficial dilated lymphatic channels. Enlargement due to hemihyperplasia is unilateral. In edentulous persons, a lack of teeth leaves more room for the tongue to expand into laterally, which can create problems with wearing dentures and may cause pseudomacroglossia.
Amyloidosis is an accumulation of insoluble proteins in tissues that impedes normal function. This can be a cause of macroglossia if amyloid is deposited in the tissues of the tongue, which gives it a nodular appearance. Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome is a rare hereditary condition, which may include other defects such as omphalocele, visceromegaly, gigantism or neonatal hypoglycemia.
The tongue may show a diffuse, smooth generalized enlargement. The face may show maxillary hypoplasia causing relative mandibular prognathism. Apparent macroglossia can also occur in Down syndrome. The tongue has a papillary, fissured surface. Macroglossia may be a sign of hypothyroid disorders.
Other causes include mucopolysaccharidosis, neurofibromatosis, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B, myxedema, acromegaly, angioedema, tumors (e.g. carcinoma), Glycogen storage disease type 2, Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome, Triploid Syndrome, trisomy 4p, fucosidosis, alpha-mannosidosis, Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome, Ras pathway disorders, transient neonatal diabetes, and lingual thyroid.
The symptoms of Gorham's disease vary depending on the bones involved. It may affect any part of the skeleton, but the most common sites of disease are the shoulder, skull, pelvic girdle, jaw, ribs, and spine.
In some cases there are no symptoms until a fracture occurs either spontaneously or following minor trauma, such as a fall. There may be an acute onset of localized pain and swelling. More commonly there is pain of no apparent cause that increases in frequency and intensity over time and may eventually be accompanied by weakness and noticeable deformity of the area. The rate of progression is unpredictable and the prognosis can be difficult. The disease may stabilize after a number of years, go into spontaneous remission, or, in cases involving the chest and upper spine, prove fatal. Recurrence of the disease following remission can also occur. Involvement of the spine and skull base may cause a poor outcome from neurological complications. In many cases, the end result of Gorham's disease is severe deformity and functional disability.
Symptoms such as difficulty breathing and chest pain may be present if the disease is present in the ribs, scapula, or thoracic vertebrae. These may indicate that the disease has spread from the bone into the chest cavity. The breathing problems may be misdiagnosed as asthma, because the damage done to the lungs can cause the same types of changes to lung function testing that are seen in asthma. Extension of the lesions into the chest may lead to the development of chylous pleural and pericardial effusions. Chyle is rich in protein and white blood cells that are important in fighting infection. The loss of chyle into the chest can have serious consequences, including infection, malnutrition, and respiratory distress and failure. These complications or their symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, poor growth or weight loss, and infection have sometimes been the first indications of the condition.
Gorham's disease (pronounced GOR-amz), also known as Gorham vanishing bone disease and phantom bone disease, is a very rare skeletal condition of unknown cause, characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of distended, thin-walled vascular or lymphatic channels within bone, which leads to resorption and replacement of bone with angiomas and/or fibrosis. Current treatments are experimental only.
Rapid-onset Obesity with Hypothalamic dysfunction, Hypoventilation and Autonomic Dysregulation (ROHHAD syndrome) is a very rare disease affecting approximately 75 people worldwide. Patients with ROHHAD, as well as patients with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) have damage to the mechanism governing proper breathing. ROHHAD syndrome is a disease that is potentially lethal and incurable. Fifteen patients with ROHHAD were evaluated by Diego Ize-Ludlow et al. work published in 2007.
Although testicular cancer can be derived from any cell type found in the testicles, more than 95% of testicular cancers are germ cell tumors (GCTs). Most of the remaining 5% are sex cord-gonadal stromal tumours derived from Leydig cells or Sertoli cells. Correct diagnosis is necessary to ensure the most effective and appropriate treatment. To some extent, this can be done via blood tests for tumor markers, but definitive diagnosis requires examination of the histology of a specimen by a pathologist.
Most pathologists use the World Health Organization classification system for testicular tumors:
- Germ cell tumors
- "Precursor lesions"
- Intratubular germ cell neoplasia
- Unclassified type (carcinoma in situ)
- Specified types
- "Tumors of one histologic type (pure forms)"
- Seminoma
- Variant - Seminoma with syncytiotrophoblastic cells
- Spermatocytic seminoma
- Variant - spermatocytic seminoma with sarcoma
- Embryonal carcinoma
- Yolk sac tumor
- Trophoblastic tumors
- Choriocarcinoma
- Variant - monophasic choriocarcinoma
- Placental site trophoblastic tumour
- Cystic trophoblastic tumor
- Teratoma
- Variant - Dermoid cyst
- Variant - Epidermoid cyst
- Variant - Monodermal teratoma (Carcinoid, Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), Nephroblastoma-like tumor, others.
- Variant - Teratomic with somatic-type malignancy
- "Tumours of more than one histologic type (mixed forms)"
- Embryonal carcinoma and teratoma
- Teratoma and seminoma
- Choriocarcinoma and teratoma.embryonal carcinoma
- Others
- Sex cord/Gonadal stromal tumors
- Leydig cell tumor
- Sertoli cell tumor
- Lipid rich variant
- Scleriosing variant
- Large cell calcifying variant
- Intratubular sertoli cell neoplasia in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
- Granulosa cell tumor
- Adult type
- Juvenile type
- Thecoma Fibroma Group
- Thecoma
- Fibroma
- Sex cord/gonadal stromal tumor - incompletely differentiated
- Sex cord/gonadal stromal tumor - mixed types
- Mixed Germ Cell and Sex Cord/Gonadal Stromal Tumors
- Gonadoblastoma
- Germ cell-sex cord/gonadal stromal tumor, unclassified
- Miscellaneous tumours of the testis
- Carcinoid
- Tumors of ovarian epithelial types
- Serous tumor of borderline malignancy
- Serous carcinoma
- Well differentiated endometrioid tumor
- Mucinous cystadenoma
- Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma
- Brenner tumor
- Nephroblastoma
- Paraganglioma
- Haematopoietic tumors
- Tumours of collecting ducts and rete
- Adenoma
- Carcinoma
- Tumors of the paratesticular structures
- Adenomatoid tumor
- Malignant and Benign Mesothelioma
- Adenocarcinoma of the epididymis
- Papillary cystadenoma of the epididymis
- Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor
- Desmoplastic small round cell tumor
- Mesenchymal tumors of the spermatic cord and testicular adnexae
- Lipoma
- Liposarcoma
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Aggressive angiomyxoma
- Angiomyofibroblastoma-like tumor (see Myxoma)
- Fibromatosis
- Fibroma
- Solitary fibrous tumor
- Others
- Secondary tumors of the testis
Most of the readily visible signs are associated with the skeletal system. Many individuals with Marfan syndrome grow to above-average height, and some have disproportionately long, slender limbs with thin, weak wrists and long fingers and toes. Besides affecting height and limb proportions, people with Marfan syndrome may have abnormal lateral curvature of the spine (scoliosis), thoracic lordosis, abnormal indentation (pectus excavatum) or protrusion (pectus carinatum) of the sternum, abnormal joint flexibility, a high-arched palate with crowded teeth and an overbite, flat feet, hammer toes, stooped shoulders, and unexplained stretch marks on the skin. It can also cause pain in the joints, bones and muscles. Some people with Marfan have speech disorders resulting from symptomatic high palates and small jaws. Early osteoarthritis may occur. Other signs include limited range of motion in the hips due to the femoral head protruding into abnormally deep hip sockets.