Adrenocortical tumors in childhood

Precocious Puberty: Types, Pathogenesis and Updated Management

Precocious puberty (PP) means the appearance of secondary sexual characters before the age of eight years in girls and nine years in boys. Puberty is indicated in girls by the enlargement of the breasts (thelarche) in girls and in boys by the enlargement of the testes in either volume or length (testicular volume = 4 mL, testicular length = 25 mm, or both). Two types of PP are recognized - namely central PP (CPP) and peripheral PP (PPP). This paper aims to describe the clinical findings and laboratory workup of PP and to illustrate the new trends in the management of precocious sexual maturation. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-independent type (PPP) refers to the development of early pubertal maturation not related to the central activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. It is classified into genetic or acquired disorders. The most common forms of congenital or genetic causes involve McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS), familial male-limited PP, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The acquired causes include exogenous exposure to androgens, functioning tumors or cysts, and the pseudo-PP of profound primary hypothyroidism. On the other hand, CPP is the most common and it is a gonadotropin-dependent form. It is due to premature maturation of the HPG axis. CPP may occur as genetic alterations, such as MKRN3, DLK1, or KISS1;as a part of mutations in the epigenetic factors that regulate the HPG axis, such as Lin28b and let-7; or as a part of syndromes, central lesions such as hypothalamic hamartoma, and others. A full, detailed history and physical examination should be taken. Furthermore, several investigations should be conducted for both types of PP, including the estimation of serum gonadotropins such as luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones and sex steroids, in addition to a radiographic workup and thyroid function tests. Treatment depends on the type of PP: Long-acting GnRHa, either intramuscularly or implanted, is the norm of care for CPP management, while in PPP, especially in congenital adrenal hyperplasia, the goal of management is to suppress adrenal androgen secretion by glucocorticoids. In addition, anastrozole and letrozole - third-generation aromatase inhibitors - are more potent for MAS.

Assessment of prognostic factors in pediatric adrenocortical tumors: a systematic review and evaluation of a modified S-GRAS score

OBJECTIVE

Pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma (pACC) is rare and prognostic stratification remains challenging. We summarized the clinical prognostic factors of pACC and determined the prognostic value of the pediatric scoring system (pS-GRAS) in adaption to the recommendation (S-GRAS) of the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors for the classification of adult ACC.

DESIGN

Analysis of pACC patients of 33 available retrospective studies in the literature.

METHODS

We searched the PubMed and Embase databases for manuscripts regarding pACC. The pS-GRAS score was calculated as a sum of tumor stage (1 = 0; 2-3 = 1; 4 = 2 points), grade (Ki67 index/rate of mitosis 0-9%/low = 0; 10-19%/intermediate = 1; ≥20%/high = 2 points), resection status (R0 = 0; RX = 1; R1 = 2; R2 = 3 points), age (<4 years = 0; ≥4 years = 1 point), hormone-related symptoms (androgen production = 0; glucocorticoid/mixed/no hormone production = 1 point) generating 10 scores and 4 groups (1: 0-2, 2: 3-4, 3: 5, 4: 6-9). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

We included 733 patients. The median age was 2.5 years and >85% of pACC showed hormone activity (mixed 50%, androgen 29%, glucocorticoid 21%). Androgen production was associated with a superior OS. Increasing age correlated with higher rates of inactive or only glucocorticoid-producing tumors, advanced tumor stage, and case fatality. Especially infants < 4 years showed more often low-risk constellations with an increased OS for all tumor stages. The pS-GRAS score correlated with clinical outcome; median OS was 133 months (95% CI: 36-283) in group 1 (n = 49), 110 months (95% CI: 2.9-314) in group 2 (n = 57), 49 months (95% CI: 5.8-278) in group 3 (n = 18), and 16 months (95% CI: 2.4-267) in group 4; (n = 11) P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The pS-GRAS score seems to have a high predictive value in the pACC patients, may serve as a helpful tool for risk stratification in future studies, and should be evaluated prospectively in an international context.

Adrenocortical Carcinoma in Childhood: A Systematic Review

Adrenocortical tumors are rare in children. This systematic review summarizes the published evidence on pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) to provide a basis for a better understanding of the disease, investigate new molecular biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and define which patients may benefit from a more aggressive therapeutic approach. We included 137 studies with 3680 ACC patients (~65% female) in our analysis. We found no randomized controlled trials, so this review mainly reflects retrospective data. Due to a specific mutation in the TP53 gene in ~80% of Brazilian patients, that cohort was analyzed separately from series from other countries. Hormone analysis was described in 2569 of the 2874 patients (89%). Most patients were diagnosed with localized disease, whereas 23% had metastasis at primary diagnosis. Only 72% of the patients achieved complete resection. In 334 children (23%), recurrent disease was reported: 81%-local recurrence, 19% (n = 65)-distant metastases at relapse. Patients < 4 years old had a different distribution of tumor stages and hormone activity and better overall survival (p < 0.001). Although therapeutic approaches are typically multimodal, no consensus is available on effective standard treatments for advanced ACC. Thus, knowledge regarding pediatric ACC is still scarce and international prospective studies are needed to implement standardized clinical stratifications and risk-adapted therapeutic strategies.

Clinical prognostic factors in pediatric adrenocortical tumors: A meta-analysis

Pediatric adrenocortical tumors (ACT) are rare and sometimes aggressive malignancies, but there is no consensus on the outcome predictors in children. A systematic search of MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for studies from 1994 to 2020 about pediatric ACT was performed. In 42 studies, 1006 patients, aged 0-18 years, were included. The meta-analyses resulted in the following predictors of better outcome: age <4 years (P < .00001), nonsecreting tumors (P = .004), complete surgical resection (P < .00001), tumor volume (P < .0001), tumor weight (P < .00001), tumor maximum diameter (P = .0009), and Stage I disease (P < .00001). Moreover, patients affected by Cushing syndrome showed a worse outcome (P < .0001). International prospective studies should be implemented to standardize clinical prognostic factors evaluation, together with pathological scores, in the stratification of pediatric ACT.

Adrenocortical carcinoma in children: first population-based clinicopathological study with long-term follow-up

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is rare in both adult and pediatric populations. Literature suggests significant differences between children and adults in presentation, histological properties and outcome. The aim of this first nationwide study on pediatric ACC was to describe the incidence, presentation, pathological characteristics, treatment and survival in The Netherlands. All ACC patients aged <20 years at diagnosis and registered in the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry between 1993 and 2010 were included. Clinical data were extracted from medical records. Archival histological slides were collected via the Dutch Pathology Registry (PALGA). We compared our findings to all clinical studies on pediatric ACC that were found on PubMed. Based on the results, 12 patients were identified: 8 females and 4 males. The median age was 4.1 years (range 1.1-18.6). The population-based age-standardized incidence rate for patients <20 years was 0.18 per million person-years. Autonomous hormonal secretion was present in 10 patients. Seven patients were aged ≤4 years at diagnosis, 5 presented with localized disease and 2 with locally advanced disease. Five patients were aged ≥5 years, 3 presented with distant metastases and 1 with locally advanced disease. For all patients, histological examination displayed malignant characteristics. All patients aged ≤4 years at diagnosis survived; the median follow-up was 97 months (57-179 months). All patients aged ≥5 years died; the median survival was 6 months (0-38 months). Pediatric ACC is extremely rare in the Western world. The clinical outcome was remarkably better in patients aged ≤4 years. This is in accordance with less advanced stage of disease at presentation, yet contrasts with the presence of adverse histological characteristics. Clinical management in advanced disease is adapted from adult practice in the absence of evidence regarding pediatric ACC.

Need for comprehensive hormonal workup in the management of adrenocortical tumors in children

OBJECTIVE

Clinical findings do not reflect the excess hormonal status in adrenocortical tumors (ACTs) in children. Identification of abnormal hormone secretion may help provide the tumor marker and delineate those patients with a risk of adrenal suppression following tumor removal. To analyze the impact of complete hormonal assessment regardless of the clinical presentation in hormone-secreting ACTs in childhood.

METHODS

Association of hormonal workup at diagnosis with the clinical findings and frequency of adrenal suppression postoperatively were analyzed in 18 children with ACT.

RESULTS

Seventeen of the 18 patients had functional ACT. Clinical findings suggested isolated virilization and isolated Cushing's syndrome in 38.8% and 17.6% of patients, respectively. Hormonal workup revealed a frequency of 83.3% for hyperandrogenism. The majority of the tumors (50%) had mixed type hormonal secretion. Hypercortisolism existed in 28.5% of children with isolated virilization and hyperandrogenism was found in 2/3 of children with isolated Cushing's syndrome. Various androgens other than dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate were also determined to be high in hyperandrogenism. Increased testosterone was a highly prevalent tumor marker. Nine patients (3 with no signs of hypercortisolism) had adrenal suppression following tumor removal which lasted 1-24 months.

CONCLUSION

Complete hormonal workup showed the predominance of mixed hormone-secreting type of tumor in the patients who lacked the appropriate clinical findings and also showed that patients lacking signs of Cushing's syndrome could have postoperative adrenal suppression. Clinical findings may not reflect the abnormal hormone secretion in all cases and tumor markers as well as risk of postoperative adrenal suppression can best be determined by complete hormonal evaluation at the time of diagnosis.

Clinical and histopathological features of adrenocortical neoplasms in children: retrospective review from a single specialist center

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Adrenocortical tumors (ACTs) are rare in children and the extent to which histopathological features can predict clinical behavior remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between histopathological features (Weiss score), surgical approach, tumor size, underlying genetic predisposition syndrome, and outcome.

METHODS

Twenty-nine ACTs treated at our institution between 1987 and 2011 were identified from a histopathology database. The histological features were categorized using the Weiss scoring system. For tumor staging, the UKCCSG staging system was utilized.

RESULTS

At a median follow-up of 25 months, 19 patients (65.5%) survived without evidence of disease and 10 patients (35.5%) had died. There was a strong association between high Weiss score and both large tumor size (P<0.01) and adverse outcome (P<0.01). Outcome for stage I and IIA disease was significantly better compared to higher stage disease and/or tumor rupture (P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

There is an association between high Weiss score, large tumor size, underlying genetic predisposition syndrome and an adverse outcome for pediatric ACTs. Regardless of histopathological findings, complete surgical resection, without tumor spillage, is optimal for survival. Genetic evaluation is recommended in patients with ACTs, particularly those with a high Weiss score.

Predictors of survival in pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program study

BACKGROUND

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is rarely described in children. There is variation in incidence worldwide. This study sought to identify national incidence rates and independent prognostic indicators for children.

METHODS

The SEER database was queried for the years 1973 through 2008 for all patients with ACC less than 20 years of age. Incidence rates and survival were analyzed accounting for clinical and demographic factors. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to identify factors associated with disease-specific survival.

RESULTS

Eighty-five patients (57 F: 28 M) were identified. Annual ACC incidence was 0.21 per million. Young patients (≤ 4 years) were noted to have more favorable features than older patients (5-19 years) and more likely to have local disease (76% vs. 31%, p < 0.001), tumor size < 10 cm (69% vs. 31%, p = 0.007), and better 5-year survival (91.1% vs. 29.8%, p < 0.001). After adjustment, the most significant predictors of cancer-specific death were age 5-19 years (HR 8.6, p = 0.001) and distant disease (HR 3.3, p = 0.01). After accounting for tumor size, only age maintained statistical significance (HR 9.9, p = 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study represents one of the largest reviews of pediatric ACC. An age of ≤ 4 years was associated with better outcome. Potential factors responsible for this include patient and tumor related factors.

Functioning adrenocortical tumors in children-secretory behavior

OBJECTIVE

Adrenocortical tumors are rare childhood neoplasms. More than 95% are functional and present with virilization, Cushing's syndrome, hypertension, or hyperestrogenism. The objective of this paper is to present the clinical, laboratory and pathological findings of this rare disease and to highlight the secretory behavior of these tumors.

METHODS

Clinical and laboratory data of seven Iranian children and adolescents aged between 2 and 16 years with functioning adrenocortical tumors are presented. Five patients had virilization and two had Cushing's syndrome at the time of diagnosis. In all subjects, the tumors were removed successfully by open surgery, during which a blood sample was drawn from the corresponding adrenal vein for hormonal evaluation.

RESULTS

Peripheral blood evaluation revealed that in addition to the dominant hormone (testosterone in the cases presenting with virilization and cortisol in those with Cushing's syndrome), significant amounts of other hormones were secreted from these tumors. Adrenal vein evaluation revealed that testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, estradiol, 17(OH) progesterone, and cortisol were directly released from the tumor. The tumors weighed between 36-103 grams. The patients have since been followed for 5 to 20 years, and there have been no signs or symptoms of relapse in any of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The study shows that functioning adrenocortical tumors should be considered in children and adolescents presenting with hyperandrogenism, Cushing's syndrome, or hyperestrogenism. A diagnosis of a functioning adrenocortical tumor requires surgical removal as early as possible to prevent the untoward effects of virilization or corticosteroid excess. Evaluation of adrenal vein hormones showed that the steroids are secreted directly from the tumor and peripheral conversion has little contribution to the serum levels.

Adrenal cortical neoplasms in children: why so many carcinomas and yet so many survivors?

Adrenal cortical neoplasms in children are represented by a disproportionate number of cases that have been diagnosed pathologically as adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs)-as many as 90% of all cortical tumors in some pediatric series. Like other solid malignancies of childhood, over half of ACCs present in the first 4 years of life in over 50% of cases. Most are sporadically occurring neoplasms, but ACCs are a manifestation of Beckwith-Wiedemann and Li-Fraumeni syndromes. Despite the fact that the microscopic features are often quite atypical and identical in many respects to ACCs in adults, the clinical outcome is favorable in 70% or more of cases. Tumor weight is seemingly a significant determinant in prognosis at a threshold of greater than 400 g. A risk assessment system is proposed that incorporates tumor weight, localization of tumor to the gland without invasion into the surrounding tissues or organs, and absence of metastasis.

Outcome of adrenocortical tumors in children

PURPOSE

This study reviews adrenocortical tumors in children to determine factors that significantly affect outcome.

METHODS

An institutional review board-approved retrospective review from 1976 to 2005 identified 23 patients younger than 19 years old with histologic confirmation of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) and adenomas.

RESULTS

The mean age of the 23 children was 9.0 +/- 1.6 years; girls predominated (female-to-male ratio = 1.9:1) as did cancers (ACC 16, adenoma 7); tumor hormone production (74%); and advanced stage for disease (66%). All malignancies were more than 2.5 cm. Adrenalectomy, including en bloc resection of adjacent structures (35%) achieved grossly negative margins in 70% of patients. Three patients received chemotherapy or chemoradiation as primary treatment without surgery. There was no perioperative mortality; morbidity was 10% (pneumothorax, acute renal failure, chylous ascites, and thrombocytosis). Surgical cure without adjuvant therapy was achieved for all adenomas and ACC stages I and II. For ACC stage III and IV, median survival was 21 months, 5-year survival was 0%. All advanced-staged ACC received adjuvant therapy. Surgically negative margins conferred a survival advantage.

CONCLUSIONS

Children, especially females with ACC present with large advanced-staged tumors. Surgically negative margins with or without en bloc resection improves survival. The high percentage of children with functioning tumors suggests earlier detection is possible.

Nine cases of childhood adrenal tumour presenting with hypertension and a review of the literature

AIM

To describe the clinical features, treatment and outcome of children adrenal tumors presenting with hypertension.

METHODS

The records of nine children under 16 years of age with adrenal tumours presenting with hypertension were analysed. Details were recorded for family history, clinical presentation, biochemistry, imaging, histology, treatment and outcome.

RESULTS

Abdominal mass was palpable only in one patient at diagnosis. Besides hypertension-associated symptoms, Cushing's syndrome was the common presentation form (n = 4). Abdominal computed topography showed adrenal mass in all patients. Tumours were completely resected for each patient. The median tumour weight was 73 g (11-530 g) and the size ranged from 1.5 x 1.5 to 12 x 14 cm2. Pheochromocytoma (n = 2), adrenocortical adenoma (n = 3), adrenocortical carcinoma (n = 1), neuroblastoma (n = 2) and ganglioneuromas (n = 1) were found. In one case, adrenal pheochromocytoma first occurred and non-functioning islet cell tumour successively occurred at pancreas. A better status is common at a median follow-up time of 3.5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood adrenal tumours presented with hypertension showed an atypical course, variable presentation. We report a unique case of adrenal pheochromocytoma followed by the occurrence of non-functioning islet cell tumour. Reversal of hypertension by surgery is crucial. Imaging techniques are important to detect adrenal tumours.

Diagnostic imaging of the thyroid and adrenal glands in childhood

This article reviews the clinical utility of modern imaging techniques, particularly ultrasound (US), CT, and MRI in children with disorders of the thyroid and adrenal glands. Radionuclide scanning is the modality of choice in making the anatomic diagnosis in neonates with congenital hypothyroidism, while US is most useful in defining nodular thyroid disease. CT and MRI of the thyroid tend to be limited to defining the extent of thyroid carcinoma. Adrenal US is an essential step in the differential diagnosis of ambiguous genitalia or salt-losing crises in the newborn, while CT and MRI are more useful in defining the anatomy of the adrenals in older children with tumors or diffuse hyperplasia of the glands.