Common Features of Endocrine Tumours

This chapter focuses on endocrine tumours arising from endocrine glands, as defined by the World Health Organization 2017 classification: tumours of the pituitary, the thyroid, the parathyroid, the adrenal cortex, the adrenal medulla, and extra-adrenal paraganglia, and the neuroendocrine pancreas. These tumours share specific features in terms of pathophysiology, diagnosis work-up, and clinical management. Genetic background is frequent and includes genetic predispositions to one specific tumour type, such as pituitary adenoma (AIP), primary bilateral macronodular hyperplasia (ARMC5), or pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (SDH genes), or to multiple endocrine neoplasias (MEN1 and RET). Hormonal work-up, with basal and dynamic assays, and radiological as well as nuclear imaging based on hormone membrane receptors, are the key steps of the diagnosis process, to evaluate the amount and origin of hormonal secretion, as well as the tumour extension. Management of endocrine tumours should associate both the treatment of the tumour mass, in most cases primarily with surgery, and the control of hormone secretion.