Hypoglycaemia assessment tool (HAT) study: subanalysis of the Lebanese cohort.

Background: Diabetic hypoglycaemia affects medication adherence, patients' productivity and quality of life. It is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular complications.

Aims: To examine the impact of hypoglycaemia in insulin-treated patients in the Lebanese cohort of the Hypoglycaemia Assessment Tool (HAT) study.

Four novel RET germline variants in exons 8 and 11 display an oncogenic potential in vitro.

Context: Most germline-activating mutations of the RET proto-oncogene associated with inherited medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) are localized in exons 10, 11 and 13-15. Four novel RET variants, located in the extracellular domain (p.A510V, p.

[Angiogenesis and thyroid cancer].

During the last two decades, the understanding of molecular biology of thyroid cancers has greatly improved, and this has permitted the development of novel therapeutic tools in patients with refractory disease. Kinase inhibitors inhibit kinases of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors, and by doing this inhibit angiogenesis, and some of these agents also inhibit other kinases of the MAPkinase pathway. These inhibitors are effective in differentiated and medullary thyroid cancers, and induce a partial response or a long term stabilisation in more than half of patients.

Determination of calcitonin levels in C-cell disease: clinical interest and potential pitfalls.

An elevated serum calcitonin level is a highly sensitive marker for medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) that can be used for screening, differential diagnosis, prognostic assessment, follow-up monitoring, and assessment of treatment response. Nevertheless, additional data are required to definitively support routine measurement of calcitonin levels in the initial work-up of patients with thyroid nodules, mainly because there is no convincing evidence that such testing actually reduces MTC-related mortality. By contrast, the prognostic value of measuring calcitonin levels preoperatively, postoperatively, and during follow-up of patients with MTC is widely acknowledged.

Serum thyroglobulin determination in thyroid cancer patients.

Serum thyroglobulin determination plays a central role, in combination with neck ultrasonography, in the follow-up of thyroid cancer patients. Its specificity is improved by thyroid remnant ablation, and its sensitivity is optimal following prolonged withdrawal or stimulation with recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Modern methods with an improved functional sensitivity may facilitate its use during follow-up.