FRI365 A Patient With A Bronchial Carcinoid Presents With Cushingoid Symptoms Due To A Potentially Dangerous Supplement

Abstract

Abstract Disclosure: T. Morales: None. S. Samarasinghe: None. Introduction: Well-differentiated bronchial neuroendocrine neoplasms often follow a clinically indolent course and rarely cause Ectopic ACTH syndrome. Iatrogenic corticosteroid use is the most common cause of Cushing syndrome and should be considered in all patients regardless of clinical background. Clinical Case: A 59-year-old woman with an 11-year history of a 1.5 cm well differentiated bronchial carcinoid, presented with Cushingoid features. Hormonal activation of her known bronchial carcinoid was considered. Testing resulted in a normal 24-hour urine 5-HIAA (6 mg/d, n<15 mg/dL), elevated chromogranin A (201 ng/mL, n<103 ng/mL), normal histamine (<1.5 ng/mL, n <1.7 ng/mL), low-normal 7 AM serum cortisol (5.1 ug/dL, n 3.6-19.3 ug/dL), normal 7 AM ACTH (17 pg/mL, n<46 pg/mL) and a surprisingly low 24-hr urinary free cortisol (1.8 mcg/hr, n 4.0-50.0 mcg/hr). A late night saliva cortisol was 0.03 mcg/dL (n 3.4-16.8 mcg/dL). Echocardiography showed no evidence of carcinoid heart disease. A Dotatate PET-CT scan to assess for neuroendocrine tumor progression showed a stable right upper lobe pulmonary nodule with no evidence of metastatic disease. Ectopic Cushing syndrome was excluded given the low cortisol levels, and exogenous steroids were suspected, however the patient denied the use of oral, inhaled, or injected steroids. A cosyntropin stimulation test yielded a pre-stimulation cortisol of 6.2 ug/dL with an adequate post-stimulation cortisol of 23.5 ug/dL (n <46 pg/mL). At this stage of evaluation, the patient received an FDA alert regarding a glucosamine supplement she had started 4 months prior for joint pain. The notification advised of hidden drug ingredients including dexamethasone, diclofenac, and methocarbamol contained within Artri King glucosamine supplements not listed on the product label, but verified by FDA lab analysis. The FDA had received several adverse event reports including liver toxicity and death associated with such products. The patient’s symptoms gradually improved after discontinuation of the supplement. Conclusion: Ectopic ACTH production is reported in less than 5% of patients with squamous cell lung cancer and 3% of patients with lung or pancreatic (non-MEN1) neuroendocrine tumors. Factitious corticoid exposure is rare and can be evaluated with synthetic corticosteroid serum testing. Cushing syndrome due to supplements containing unreported corticosteroid doses should be considered in patients with typical Cushingoid features and contradictory hormonal testing.