Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of Cancer

Malignant pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas affect a very small percentage of the general population. A substantial number of these patients have a hereditary predisposition for the disease and consequently, bear the risk of developing these tumors throughout their entire lives. It is, however, u...

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Main Author: Camilo Jimenez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Endocrinology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fendo.2018.00277/full
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author Camilo Jimenez
author_facet Camilo Jimenez
author_sort Camilo Jimenez
collection DOAJ
description Malignant pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas affect a very small percentage of the general population. A substantial number of these patients have a hereditary predisposition for the disease and consequently, bear the risk of developing these tumors throughout their entire lives. It is, however, unclear why some patients with no hereditary predisposition develop these tumors, which frequently share a similar molecular phenotype with their hereditary counterparts. Both hereditary and sporadic tumors usually appear at an early age, and affected people often die before reaching their expected lifespans. Unfortunately, there is currently no systemic therapy approved for patients with this orphan disease. Therefore, pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are very challenging malignancies. The recognition of genetic and molecular abnormalities responsible for the development of these tumors as well as the identification of effective therapies for other malignancies that share a similar pathogenesis is leading to the development of exciting clinical trials. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, radiopharmaceutical agents, and immunotherapy are currently under evaluation in prospective clinical trials. A phase 2 clinical trial of the highly specific metaiodobenzylguanidine, iobenguane 131I, has provided impressive results; this radiopharmaceutical agent may become the first approved systemic therapy for patients with malignant pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Nevertheless, systemic therapies are still not able to cure the disease. This review will discuss the development of systemic therapeutic approaches using the hallmarks of cancer as a framework. This approach will help the reader to understand where research efforts currently stand and what the future for this difficult field may be.
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spelling doaj.art-d9822eee81114539a9edb3765e5340a42022-12-21T19:19:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Endocrinology1664-23922018-05-01910.3389/fendo.2018.00277384440Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of CancerCamilo JimenezMalignant pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas affect a very small percentage of the general population. A substantial number of these patients have a hereditary predisposition for the disease and consequently, bear the risk of developing these tumors throughout their entire lives. It is, however, unclear why some patients with no hereditary predisposition develop these tumors, which frequently share a similar molecular phenotype with their hereditary counterparts. Both hereditary and sporadic tumors usually appear at an early age, and affected people often die before reaching their expected lifespans. Unfortunately, there is currently no systemic therapy approved for patients with this orphan disease. Therefore, pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are very challenging malignancies. The recognition of genetic and molecular abnormalities responsible for the development of these tumors as well as the identification of effective therapies for other malignancies that share a similar pathogenesis is leading to the development of exciting clinical trials. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, radiopharmaceutical agents, and immunotherapy are currently under evaluation in prospective clinical trials. A phase 2 clinical trial of the highly specific metaiodobenzylguanidine, iobenguane 131I, has provided impressive results; this radiopharmaceutical agent may become the first approved systemic therapy for patients with malignant pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Nevertheless, systemic therapies are still not able to cure the disease. This review will discuss the development of systemic therapeutic approaches using the hallmarks of cancer as a framework. This approach will help the reader to understand where research efforts currently stand and what the future for this difficult field may be.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fendo.2018.00277/fullpheochromocytomaparagangliomatyrosine kinase inhibitorsradionuclidesimmunotherapy
spellingShingle Camilo Jimenez
Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of Cancer
Frontiers in Endocrinology
pheochromocytoma
paraganglioma
tyrosine kinase inhibitors
radionuclides
immunotherapy
title Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of Cancer
title_full Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of Cancer
title_fullStr Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of Cancer
title_full_unstemmed Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of Cancer
title_short Treatment for Patients With Malignant Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas: A Perspective From the Hallmarks of Cancer
title_sort treatment for patients with malignant pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas a perspective from the hallmarks of cancer
topic pheochromocytoma
paraganglioma
tyrosine kinase inhibitors
radionuclides
immunotherapy
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fendo.2018.00277/full
work_keys_str_mv AT camilojimenez treatmentforpatientswithmalignantpheochromocytomasandparagangliomasaperspectivefromthehallmarksofcancer