Correlation between radiologic and pathologic dimensions of adrenal masses

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Radiology
• Oncology

Background:

• Adrenal tumor size is a key factor in predicting malignancy.
• Controversy exists regarding the concordance between radiologic and pathologic measurements of adrenal tumors.
• Accurate measurement is crucial for determining appropriate patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the correlation between direct and corrected radiologic computed tomography (CT) scan dimensions and resected specimen measurements.
• To compare the accuracy of direct radiologic measurements versus the Linos formula for adrenal tumor sizing.
• To evaluate the utility of these measurements in managing adrenal incidentalomas.

Main Methods:

• A total of 41 adrenal tumors were analyzed.
• Direct and corrected (using Linos formula) largest diameter measurements from CT scans were compared to pathologic dimensions.
• Statistical analyses included intraclass correlation and Pearson's correlation.

Main Results:

• High intraclass correlations were observed for both direct (0.89) and corrected (0.90) radiologic measurements against pathologic dimensions (p < 0.00001).
• Pearson's correlation coefficients were strong: r = 0.82 (direct vs. pathologic) and r = 0.83 (corrected vs. pathologic) (p < 0.0001).
• The Linos formula demonstrated significantly greater accuracy when comparing group means, while individual correlations were similar to direct measurements.

Conclusions:

• Radiologic and pathologic measurements of adrenal tumors show good correlation.
• The Linos formula offers improved accuracy over direct radiologic measurements for adrenal tumor sizing.
• Both radiologic measurements and the Linos formula are valuable tools for managing adrenal incidentalomas.