[Adrenocortical tumors in children: imaging adenomas and carcinomas]

This article aims to show the imaging characteristics of pediatric adrenocortical tumors.

We review the imaging and histological findings in patients diagnosed with pediatric adrenocortical tumors at our tertiary hospital between 2000 and 2010. We analyze the findings at ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging that can help orient the diagnosis toward benign or malignant lesions and guide imaging follow-up.

We found 8 adrenocortical tumors in children: 5 carcinomas, 2 adenomas, and 1 borderline tumor. Two tumors were classified as stage I, 1 as stage II, 3 as stage III, and 2 as stage IV. Imaging enabled the diagnosis of stage IV carcinoma in 2 cases, due to the presence of initial metastases in one patient and to size of the tumor and structural changes in the other, who later developed metastases. In the other 6 cases, the imaging studies oriented the diagnosis toward carcinoma or adenoma.

Adrenocortical tumors are rare in children. Adrenocortical tumors include adenomas and carcinomas, and in the absence of vascular infiltration and/or metastases it is difficult to differentiate between the two types by imaging and histology. The combination of an adrenal mass and clinical signs of adrenocortical hyperfunction in a child is virtually diagnostic of an adrenocortical tumor.