[Adrenal gland incidentaloma].

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Radiology

Background:

• Adrenal incidentalomas are lesions discovered incidentally during imaging for other conditions.
• These lesions can be functional or non-functional, impacting hormone production.
• Understanding the prevalence and functional status of adrenal incidentalomas is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of functional and non-functional adrenal incidentalomas.
• To assess the types and rates of hormone secretion impairment in patients with adrenal incidentalomas.
• To characterize the clinical presentation of adrenal incidentalomas.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 60 patients with adrenal incidentaloma diagnosed between 1996 and 1999.
• Evaluation of tumor functionality, including assessment of cortisol, aldosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone secretion, and pheochromocytoma.
• Categorization of tumors as functional or afunctional.

Main Results:

• Afunctional tumors comprised 75% of the adrenal incidentalomas studied.
• 16.6% of patients exhibited impaired cortisol secretion.
• 3.2% had impaired aldosterone secretion, and 3.2% had pheochromocytoma. One patient (1.6%) had impaired 17-hydroxyprogesterone secretion.
• Overall, functionally active incidentalomas accounted for 25% of the cases.

Conclusions:

• While most adrenal incidentalomas are afunctional, a significant proportion exhibit hormonal abnormalities.
• Impaired cortisol secretion is the most common functional abnormality observed.
• Thorough endocrine evaluation is necessary for patients with adrenal incidentalomas to detect potentially active tumors.