Work up of incidental adrenal mass: state of the art

Due to the increasing use of radiological investigations, the detection of incidental adrenal masses has become even more frequent. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the nature of the adrenal mass in order to decide the type of treatment that should be undertaken. Toward this goal, biochemical tests are useful in order to assess catecholamines levels for the presence of a pheochromocytoma or cortisol excess in case of Cushing's syndrome. Furthermore, the dexamethasone suppression test and late-night salivary cortisol may be useful in measuring plasma cortisol, respectively, in the blood and urine. Hyperaldosteronism could be suspected in the presence of arterial hypertension. With regard to imaging modalities, the contrast washout and Hounsfield units estimation might play a role as indicators on computed tomography. In terms of treatment, a surgical approach is most suitable for a hyperfunctioning adrenal mass irrespective of size, and for nonfunctioning masses >4 cm. For indeterminate smaller lesions, with washout >50%, <10 Hounsfield Unit, nonfunctioning, benign-appearing, undergoing a follow-up in regular intervals is more appropriate in order to estimate mass growth. This paper summarizes recent findings on the management of incidental adrenal masses, with a special focus on the use of imaging, surgical management and follow-up modalities in improving patient outcomes.