New Diagnosis of Adrenocortical Carcinoma with Stroke Workup

Ischemic stroke has well-established risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and atrial fibrillation. However, strokes can also occur in the context of less common etiologies such as malignancies, particularly as certain malignancies are associated with hypercoagulable states. Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a malignancy that can present with a hypercortisolemic state, which can further exacerbate cancer coagulopathy and the traditional metabolic risk factors of stroke.

A 60-year-old woman presented with expressive aphasia and was found to have multifocal acute infarcts on magnetic resonance imaging. She underwent a thorough cardiac, coagulopathy, and paraneoplastic workup and was found to have a right adrenal mass and was biochemically hypercortisolemic. The patient underwent surgical resection of the adrenal mass and pathology confirmed the diagnosis of ACC.

The discovery of this rare malignancy underscores the complex interplay between malignancy, hormonal imbalances, hypercoagulability in stroke and the importance of a comprehensive clinical diagnostic evaluation.