Adrenal incidentaloma: the influence of a decision-making algorithm on the short-term outcome of laparoscopy

The Pathologic Point of View of Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy in the Era of Radiologic Imaging: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION/AIM

This study aimed to determine if laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) is feasible for the treatment of adrenal malignancies and metastasis, and to review the final pathology findings in order to clarify the indications for surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

The medical records of all patients that underwent LA at 3 university hospitals between January 1, 2008, and May 1, 2015, were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

In total, 189 laparoscopic adrenalectomies were completed successfully. Mean duration of surgery was 79.3 ± 38.6 min and mean estimated intraoperative blood loss was 39.9 ml. Intraoperatively, 4 patients had major complications: spleen injury (n = 1), renal vein injury (n = 2) and diaphragm injury (n = 2). Histopathological examination showed that there were 20 different types of lesions. Surgical margins (SMs) were tumor free in 95.2% of the patients. Moreover, SMs were tumor free in all patients with adrenocortical carcinomas; however, positive margins were noted in 7 of 23 patients (30.4%) with malignant adrenal tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings support the use of laparoscopy for metastatic adrenal masses, despite a high positive margin rate. LA is a safe, feasible and cost-effective procedure for the management of benign and malignant adrenal masses.

Past and present in abdominal surgery management for Cushing's syndrome

INTRODUCTION

Data on specific abdominal surgery and Cushing's syndrome are infrequent and are usually included in the adrenalectomy reports. Current literature suggests the feasibility and reproducibility of the surgical adrenalectomies for patients diagnosed with non-functioning tumours and functioning adrenal tumours including pheochromocytoma, Conn's syndrome and Cushing's syndrome.

DISCUSSION

Medical treatment for Cushing's syndrome is feasible but follow-up or clinical situations force the patient to undergo a surgical procedure. Laparoscopic surgery has become a gold standard nowadays in a broad spectrum of pathologies. Laparoscopic adrenalectomies are also standard procedures nowadays. However, despite the different characteristics and clinical disorders related to the laparoscopically removed adrenal tumours, the intraoperative and postoperative outcomes do not significantly differ in most cases between the different groups of patients, techniques and types of tumours. Tumour size, hormonal type and surgeon's experience could be different factors that predict intraoperative and postoperative complications. Transabdominal and retroperitoneal approaches can be considered. Outcomes for Cushing's syndrome do not differ depending on the surgical approach. Novel technologies and approaches such as single-port surgery or robotic surgery have proven to be safe and feasible.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is a safe and feasible approach to adrenal pathology, providing the patients with all the benefits of minimally invasive surgery. Single-port access and robotic surgery can be performed but more data are required to identify their correct role between the different surgical approaches. Factors such as surgeon's experience, tumour size and optimal technique can affect the outcomes of this surgery.

Risk of concomitant malignancy in hyperfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas

BACKGROUND

Adrenal masses are common incidental findings on radiologic imaging. The association between malignancy and hormonal hyperactivity found in incidentally discovered adrenal tumors, however, remains unclear.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from patients who underwent adrenalectomy for incidentally discovered adrenal tumors at a single institution. Outcomes and operative data were compared by univariate analysis. Area under the curve was used to analyze the effect of tumor size in predicting malignancy.

RESULTS

There were 49 patients who initially presented with adrenal incidentalomas that underwent adrenalectomy. Most patients were Caucasian women with an average age of 51 ± 14 years. Of this group, 24 patients underwent resection for hyperfunctioning adrenal glands. There were no significant differences in malignancy rates between hyperfunctional and nonfunctional tumors (4.1% vs. 12.0%, P = 0.32). On final histopathology, there were four patients with adrenal malignancies: two adrenocortical carcinomas and two metastatic from renal carcinoma. Only one patient with a hyperfunctioning adrenal tumor had underlying malignancy. Overall, invasion of adjacent structures (P < 0.001), presence of lymphadenopathy (P = 0.02), metastasis (P = 0.03), irregular tumor margins (P = 0.01), heterogeneity (P = 0.05), and tumor size >6 cm (P = 0.04) on radiologic imaging were strongly associated with malignancy in adrenal incidentalomas.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of concomitant malignancy and hormonal hyperactivity in adrenal incidentalomas is very low. Tumor size (>6 cm) and radiographic features remain the most important predictors of adrenal malignancy, regardless of tumor function.

Unusual presentation of bilateral adrenocortical carcinoma mimicking adrenal metastasis

A 75-year-old female visited our hospital with bilateral adrenal masses that were detected incidentally during lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the evaluation of radiating flank pain. Consecutive computed tomography and MRI revealed bilateral adrenal masses with no evidence of lymph node enlargement or local invasion; 2[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography showed an intense FDG accumulation in both adrenal glands without abnormal FDG uptake in extra-adrenal regions. The laboratory test results were within normal ranges. We performed a bilateral adrenalectomy. The pathologic diagnosis of both adrenal masses was consistent with adrenocortical carcinoma. The patient recovered well with no complications.

A multi-center study on the surgical management of metastatic disease to adrenal glands

BACKGROUND

In the management of adrenal lesions in oncological patients, many issues are still controversial: morphological signs of suspected malignancy, accuracy of imaging examinations, use of fine needle aspiration (FNA), and the role of laparoscopy. The present study attempts to address these questions through the evaluation of the management of adrenal metastases (AM) in a wide cohort of patients included in the Italian Register of Endoscopic Adrenal Surgery.

METHODS

In January 2009, all patients recorded on the Register were evaluated, on the basis of CT scan, MRI, and FNA. The diagnostic, surgical, and follow-up data of 95 patients with pre-operative AM diagnosis have been reviewed. On the basis of the fulfilled criteria three patterns were identified: "diagnostic", "suspect," and "non-diagnostic."

RESULTS

CT scan sensitivity was 41.5%/77.9% and specificity was 54.5%/90.9% for "diagnostic"/"diagnostic" + "suspect" examinations, respectively. MRI sensitivity was 15.7%/78.9% and specificity was non-determinate/83.3% for "diagnostic"/"diagnostic" + "suspect" exams, respectively. Sensitivity of FNA was 33.3%. About surgery, conversions rate was 16.6%; no mortality or re-operations were reported; complications rate was 10.7%; and no relation was noted between tumor size and surgical outcome. Mean survival was 32 months; 5-year survival was 23%, independent of AM size; survival for lung AM was similar to that of breast and kidney AM.

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopy for AM, in expert hand, seems to be a feasible and oncologically safe approach. Due to the unsatisfactory diagnostic accuracy for AM, every oncological patient with suspect adrenal lesions should be encouraged to undergo this surgical procedure.

Bilateral primary adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and primary adrenocortical carcinoma--review of the literature preoperative differentiation of adrenal tumors

Most of the adrenal tumors that are incidentally detected are benign adenomas. The incidence of malignant adrenal tumors including adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) and primary adrenal lymphoma (PAL) is rather low. As many patients with ACC and PAL are diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease, the overall survival time of both entities remains poor. The therapeutic strategies for both entities differ. Thus an early differentiation between ACC and PAL is necessary. Unfortunately hitherto preoperative diagnosis of potentially malignant adrenal masses is still a main problem in the treatment of adrenal tumors. We present the case of a 57-year-old male patient with ACC and the case of an 87-year-old male patient with PAL and provide a systematic comparison of the clinical and pathological features of both entities. In both cases clinical and radiological features resulted in an initially false diagnosis. Primary surgical therapy was performed in both patients. The patient with PAL died five months after initial surgery. The patient with ACC showed tumor progression with local and systemic recurrence despite adjuvant therapy with mitotane and additional surgical therapy. Prognosis of patients with ACC and PAL seems to be dependant on the ability to start accurate treatment without any time delay. We propose some guidelines for diagnosis and surgical management of adrenal tumors.