Preoperative CT evaluation of adrenal glands in non-small cell bronchogenic carcinoma

Preoperative chest computed tomographic (CT) scans in 84 patients with biopsy-proved non-small cell bronchogenic carcinoma were reviewed. At least one adrenal gland was visualized in 70 of these. Evidence of a solid adrenal mass was present in 18 (14.5%) glands in 15 (21.4%) patients. Percutaneous needle aspiration under CT guidance confirmed metastatic malignancy in the four patients who were biopsied. Because the documented presence of adrenal metastases in non-small cell lung cancer makes surgical resection or local irradiation inappropriate, it is recommended that both adrenal glands in their entirety be specifically included whenever a staging chest CT examination is performed in patients with such tumors. Percutaneous needle biopsy for pathologic confirmation of the nature of solid adrenal masses discovered in this process is also useful.