Polyendocrine Disorders and Endocrine Neoplastic Syndromes

Although a large majority of endocrine diseases present as sporadic cases, an increasing proportion can be identified as part of a polyendocrine or systemic syndrome. These include autoimmune endocrine diseases, which may be part of autoimmune polyendocrine disorders (APS) or rare complex disorders such as POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein and skin changes) or IPEX (immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked) syndromes. On the other hand, endocrine tumors may develop in a variety of clinical conditions, including multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes, syndromic diseases such as McCune Albright or Carney’s complex, or peculiar familial associations such as pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma syndromes.