Premium
A patient with malignant paraganglioma that simultaneously produces adrenocorticotropic hormone and interleukin‐6
Author(s) -
Omura Masao,
Sato Tadatsugu,
Cho Ryuko,
Lizuka Takashi,
Fujiwara Takuya,
Okamoto Kazuhito,
Tashiro Yukio,
Chiba Shyozo,
Nishikawa Tetsuo
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19940901)74:5<1634::aid-cncr2820740524>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - medicine , adrenocorticotropic hormone , paraganglioma , hormone , surgery
Background. To the authors' knowledge, there have been no reports describing a case of malignant paraganglioma that produces both adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6). Methods. The clinical course and pathophysiology of a patient with Cushing's syndrome induced by ectopic ACTH syndrome caused by a cervical malignant paraganglioma with elevated plasma levels of IL‐6 was investigated. Results. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging of the neck revealed the presence of a tumor around the area from which the blood sample that showed the highest levels of ACTH and IL‐6 was obtained by selective catheterization. Immunohistochemical staining of the removed tissue demonstrated the presence of ACTH and IL‐6 proteins in the tumor cells. Reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction also revealed the existence of IL‐6 mRNA in those cells. Conclusion. The malignant paraganglioma of ectopic ACTH syndrome may produce IL‐6. The present investigation provides new observations concerning ectopic ACTH syndrome.