Clinicopathological study of adrenal tumors

Lee, Byeong Jin; Park, Young Kyung

Abstract

From September 1980 to November 1989, eight patients with adrenal tumors had been admitted to our Department of Urology, Chonbuk National University hospital. Nine tumors consisted of 5 adrenal adenomas, 2 pheochromocytomas. a neuroblasloma and adrenocortical cancer. A clinicopathological study was made and the results were obtained as follows : 1. The 8 patients in these series included 2 men and 6 women. Age was ranged from 12 years to 47 years at the lime of presentation (average ; 27.5 years). 2. Four tumors occurred in the right adrenal gland and 5 in the left including a case of bilateral pheochromocytoma. 3. In nonfunctioning tumor (a case of adrenal denoma), the main clinical manifestations were localizing symptoms and signs such as abdominal pain, palpable mass and nonspecific laboratory findings. The others were functioning tumors (2 cases of Cushing`s syndrome due to adrenal adenoma and adrenocortical carcinoma, 2 cases of primary aldosteronism due to drenal demoma, a case of neuroblastoma and 2 cases of pheochromocytoma). There were unique generalized symptoms, signs and laboratory findings due to overproduction of hormones by the tumors 4. Nine adrenalectomies in 8 patients were performed. The weight of resected adrenal mass was 330gm in nonfunctioning adrenal adenoma, 190gm in adrenocortical carcinoma, 5.2gm in Cushing`s syndrome due to derenal adenoma, 2.5gm and 3.2gm in aldosteronism due to adrenal adenoma, 960gm in neurobladstoma, and 85gm, 20gm and 75gm in phepchromocytoma. 5. Results of hormonal assays which were checked 2 days and 2 weeks postoperatively returned to almost normal levels 6. Final characreristic of adrenal tumors could be made mostly by clinical diagnostic procedures, but some of underlying diseases should be differentiated by pathologic confirmation.