The intratumoral immunoassayable somatostatin concentration is frequently elevated in medullary thyroid carcinoma results in 34 cases

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The current work has been performed by the Cooperative French Group of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (GETC). A systematic evaluation of RIA somatostatin (SRIH) was performed in 34 medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTC) (25 inherited, seven sporadic). Plasma SRIH was measured by radioimmunoassay in parallel with calcitonin (CT) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Immunoassayable SRIH was tested in fresh tumoral tissue samples from the same 34 MTC and, for comparison, in 10 nontumoral thyroid extracts ( 0.1) between tumoral SRIH and the following: (1) tumor size (r = 0.227); (2) epidemiologic form of MTC (r = 0.144); (3) plasma SRIH (r = 0.045), plasma CT (R = 0.095) or (4) plasma CEA (r = 0.032). Thus, in the authors' experience, SRIH appears as a major product of tumoral C‐cell in human MTC, even when plasma SRIH is normal and SRIH immunohistochemical staining is scarce. Multiple hormonal production of these tumors may explain its presence but SRIH may act also as a regulator, since negative influence of SRIH on CT is demonstrated in normal as well in tumoral conditions.