[Nonfunctioning adrenocortical carcinoma revealed by metastasis to the base of the tongue]

A 60-year-old man visited our clinic with the complaint of a tumor of the tongue base. Clinical and histological examination revealed that the tumor was metastasis from left adrenal carcinoma. Metastatic lesions were present in the tongue base, cervical lymph node and lung. There were no endocrinological abnormalities in the laboratory examination. The patient died about three months after admission. The autopsy disclosed nonfunctioning carcinoma of the adrenal cortex. Ninety-two cases of nonfunctioning adrenocortical carcinoma in Japan including the present patient are briefly reviewed.