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Published on: November 10, 2014
Phaeochromocytoma in Northern Ireland: a 21 year review
O L Beatty1, C F Russell, L Kennedy
1Sir George E. Clark Metabolic Unit, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Objective:
To report our experience of 41 patients with phaeochromocytoma.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Setting:
Teaching hospital, United Kingdom.
Subjects:
Forty-one patients who presented with phaeochromocytoma 1970-1991.
Interventions:
Removal of tumour (n = 38).
Main Outcome Measures:
Mortality, morbidity, and recurrence.
Results:
Thirty-four patients had sporadic tumours, five had the multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 2 syndrome, and two had non-MEN familial phaeochromocytoma. Thirty-six patients (88%) presented with symptoms of catecholamine excess, and 37 (90%) were hypertensive. The diagnosis was confirmed biochemically in 37. Tumours were located using computed tomography (n = 26), vascular studies (n = 11), and ultrasonography (n = 3). Thirty-eight patients had their tumours resected, of whom 10 (27%) developed complications. There were no postoperative deaths. Two patients were managed conservatively, and one died before diagnosis. Six patients developed recurrent tumours a mean of five years after the initial operation, and another patient had an inoperable tumour at initial diagnosis; four of these seven died from metastatic disease. Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scans were positive in three of the patients who developed recurrences.
Conclusions:
Patients with phaeochromocytoma can now be operated on safely but prolonged follow-up is essential.
