[Local recurrence of non-functioning adrenocortical carcinoma 14 years following surgical treatment: a case report]

A 76-year-old woman with a complaint of left flank pain was referred to our department for extensive examination and treatment. In 1976, she had undergone transperitoneal left adrenalectomy and nephrectomy under a diagnosis of left adrenal tumor. The surgical specimen had histologically been diagnosed as adrenocortical carcinoma. There have been no physical or endocrinological abnormalities. Computed tomogram, magnetic resonance imaging and angiogram revealed a retroperitoneal multiple hypervascular tumor with a non-homogeneous inner density. On January 16, 1991, a transperitoneal resection of the tumor with splenectomy and partial pancreatectomy was performed under a diagnosis of local recurrence of non-functioning adrenocortical carcinoma. The specimen was histopathologically diagnosed as low grade adrenocortical carcinoma based on 3 mitoses/50 hpf. From the reference study, this was thought to be the second case of late recurrence adrenocortical carcinoma.