Emerging therapy for adrenocortical carcinoma

Clinical outcomes of image-guided therapies in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma: a tertiary referral center retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Image-guided therapies (IGTs) are commonly used in oncology, but their role in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is not well defined.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective review of patients with ACC treated with IGTs. We assessed response to therapy using RECIST v1.1, time to next line of systemic therapy, disease control rate (DCR), local tumor progression-free survival (LTPFS), and complications of IGTs (based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [CTCAE] version 5.0).

RESULTS

Our cohort included 26 patients (median age 56 years [range 38-76]; n = 18 female) who had 51 IGT sessions to treat 86 lesions. IGTs modalities included cryoablation (n = 49), microwave ablation (n = 21), combined microwave and bland trans-arterial embolization (n = 8), bland trans-arterial embolization alone (n = 3), radio-embolization (n = 3), and radiofrequency ablation (n = 2). DCR was 81.4% (70 out of 86), of which 66.3% of tumors showed complete response, 18.6% showed progressive disease, 8.1% showed partial response, and 7.0% showed stable disease. LTPFS rates were 73% and 63% at 1 and 2 years, respectively. Fourteen lesions underwent re-ablation for incomplete response on initial treatment. Sixteen patients (61.5%) received new systemic therapy following IGTs, with a median time to systemic therapy of 12.5 months (95% CI: 8.6 months upper limit not reached). There was 1 reported CTCAE grade 3 adverse event (biloma) following IGT.

CONCLUSIONS

IGT use in properly selected patients with ACC is safe and associated with prolonged disease control and delay in the need for systemic therapy.

Identification of a chromatin regulator signature and potential prognostic ability for adrenocortical carcinoma

Objective: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant tumor. Chromatin regulators (CRs) can drive epigenetic changes, which have been considered as one of the most vital hallmarks of tumors. This study aimed to explore the CR signature for ACC in order to clarify the molecular basis of ACC’s pathogenic mechanism and provide novel methods to diagnose and treat ACC clinically.

Methods: This study obtained transcriptome sequencing datasets of ACC patients and sequencing data on normal adrenal tissues in TCGA and GTEx databases, respectively. Meanwhile, prognostic genes were selected through Lasso and Cox regression analyses. Using the transcriptome sequencing datasets of ACC patients downloaded from the GEO database to finish validation, we performed Kaplan–Meier (KM) analysis for evaluating the differential survival between low- and high-risk groups. Then, this work constructed the risk model for predicting ACC prognosis. TIMER 2.0 was employed to assess the differences in immune infiltration between the two groups. Furthermore, this work adopted the R package “pRRophetic” for exploring and estimating the sensitivity of patients to different chemotherapeutic agents.

Results: A 5-CR model was established to predict ACC survival, and the CR signature was confirmed as a factor in order to independently predict ACC patient prognosis. In addition, a nomogram composed of the risk score and clinical T stage performed well in the prediction of patients’ prognosis. Differentially expressed CRs (DECRs) were mostly associated with the cell cycle, base excision repair, colon cancer, gene duplication, homologous recombination, and other signaling pathways for the high-risk group. As for the low-risk group, DECRs were mainly enriched in allograft rejection, drug metabolism of cytochrome P450, metabolism of xenogeneic organisms by cytochrome P450, retinol metabolism, and other signaling pathways. According to TIMER analysis, the immune infiltration degrees of endothelial cells, M2 macrophages, myeloid dendritic cells, CD4+ Th1 cells, NKT cells, and M0 macrophages showed significant statistical differences between the high- and low-risk groups, and high infiltration levels of M0 and M2 macrophages were more pronounced in higher T stage (T3 and T4), N stage (N1), and clinical stages (III and IV). In addition, high-risk cases exhibited higher sensitivity to etoposide and doxorubicin. Additionally, low-risk patients had significantly decreased expression of RRM1 compared with high-risk cases, suggesting the better effect of mitotane treatment.

Conclusion: This study identified the DECRs, which might be related to ACC genesis and progression. The pathways enriched by these DECRs were screened, and these DECRs were verified with excellent significance for estimating ACC survival. Drug sensitivity analysis also supported the current clinical treatment plan. Moreover, this study will provide reliable ideas and evidence for diagnosing and treating ACC in the clinic.

Giant Adrenocortical Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review of the Relevant Literature

BACKGROUND Adrenocortical carcinomas are rare and aggressive tumors often diagnosed as incidentalomas. The malignancy can present with abnormal hormone secretion or the tumor may be non-functioning and present as a palpable mass causing discomfort. Here, we present a case of an adrenal cortical carcinoma originally identified as an incidentaloma. CASE REPORT A 63-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and discomfort. A large abdominal mass, occupying the left upper and lower quadrant, was palpated. Imaging revealed a mass occupying the left abdomen between the stomach and the spleen, applying pressure on the pylorus, duodenum, splenic vessels, and pancreas. The mass size was 21.2×13×14.6 cm. Hormonal investigations were normal. Surgical exploration was performed, and the tumor was excised. Pathological analysis revealed an adrenocortical carcinoma and the patient underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. Twelve months later, the carcinoma recurred. The patient underwent a second operation in which the recurrent mass was excised along with the tail of the pancreas and a small part of the left lobe of the liver. The postoperative period was uneventful, and the patient was discharged home on the 7th postoperative day. No further adjuvant therapy was applied. The patient remains disease-free 18 months after the reoperation. CONCLUSIONS Giant adrenocortical carcinomas, although rare, pose a challenge to the surgical team both diagnostically and therapeutically. Surgical excision with the appropriate oncologic support can guarantee excellent outcomes.

Successful treatment of metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma in the spine: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare aggressive type of cancer whose prognosis is poor, particularly for metastatic entities. Metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma in the spine is a rare disease with no standard curative managements yet. The objective of this study is to report a very rare case of spinal metastases of adrenocortical carcinoma successfully managed by combination of cement augmentation, radiotherapy together with adjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) therapy. The management of these unique cases has yet to be well-documented.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 42-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of continuous and progressive back pain. The patient, who had been diagnosed of right pheochromocytoma, received surgical treatment of right adrenalectomy 14 months ago in another hospital, followed by no further treatment.

DIAGNOSIS

Magnetic resonance imaging of spine showed vertebral pathological fracture of L1, spinal cord compression secondary to the epidural component of the L1 mass, with increased metastatic marrow infiltration of the right L1 vertebral body, which presented as a solid tumor. Postoperative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of spinal metastases of adrenocortical carcinoma.

INTERVENTIONS

The patient underwent cement augmentation via a posterior approach, radiotherapy, radiofrequency ablation of psoas major muscle occupying lesions, right chest wall, liver and kidney recess together with adjuvant PD-1 therapy.

OUTCOMES

The patient's neurological deficits improved significantly after the surgery, and the postoperative period was uneventful at the 6-month and 1-year follow-up visit. There were no complications associated with the operation during the follow-up period.

LESSONS

Combined efforts of specialists from orthopedics, urology, interventional radiology, radiotherapy, pathology, endocrinology, and medical oncology led to the successful diagnosis and management of this patient. Metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma of the spine, although rare, should be part of the differential diagnosis when the patient has a history of adrenal carcinoma and presents with back pain, myelopathy, or radiculopathy. We recommend the posterior approach for total excision of the spinal metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma when the tumor has caused neurological deficits. Osteoplasty by cement augmentation, radiotherapy, and targeted PD-1 therapy may also be good choices for treatment.

Common module analysis reveals prospective targets and mechanisms of pediatric adrenocortical adenoma and carcinoma

Pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma and adrenocortical adenoma are two rare diseases affecting children. Molecular analyses were performed to identify commonalities in gene expression between the diseases. Differentially expressed genes were identified for the pediatric adrenocortical adenoma and carcinoma tissues, as compared with normal tissues, using the expression dataset. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed for adenoma and carcinoma disease models, and common modules among the diseases were identified. A total of two common modules with 14 nodes and 20 nodes were revealed among the adenoma and carcinoma networks, respectively. Genes of the common modules were also identified to be the common hub genes of the disease models. Enrichment of the genes of the common modules suggested associations with steroid biosynthesis, the proteasome, cell cycle and metabolic pathways. Modularity, topological and functional analysis of the PPI networks revealed common modules among pediatric adenoma and carcinoma disease models, which provided insight into the underlying disease mechanisms and suggesting prospective targets for future study.

Unique and Novel Urinary Metabolomic Features in Malignant versus Benign Adrenal Neoplasms

Purpose: Adrenal incidentalomas must be differentiated from adrenocortical cancer (ACC). Currently, size, growth, and imaging characteristics determine the potential for malignancy but are imperfect. The aim was to evaluate whether urinary small molecules (<800 Da) are associated with ACC.Experimental Design: Preoperative fasting urine specimens from patients with ACC (n = 19) and benign adrenal tumors (n = 46) were analyzed by unbiased ultraperformance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Creatinine-normalized features were analyzed by Progenesis, SIMCA, and unpaired t test adjusted by FDR. Features with an AUC >0.8 were identified through fragmentation patterns and database searches. All lead features were assessed in an independent set from patients with ACC (n = 11) and benign adrenal tumors (n = 46) and in a subset of tissue samples from patients with ACC (n = 15) and benign adrenal tumors (n = 15) in the training set.Results: Sixty-nine features were discovered and four known metabolites identified. Urinary creatine riboside was elevated 2.1-fold (P = 0.0001) in patients with ACC. L-tryptophan, Nε,Nε,Nε-trimethyl-L-lysine, and 3-methylhistidine were lower 0.33-fold (P < 0.0001), 0.56-fold (P < 0.0001), and 0.33-fold (P = 0.0003) in patients with ACC, respectively. Combined multivariate analysis of the four biomarkers showed an AUC of 0.89 [sensitivity 94.7% (confidence interval {CI}, 73.9%-99.1%), specificity 82.6% (CI, 68.6%-92.2%), PPV 69.2% (CI, 48.2%-85.6%), and NPV 97.4% (CI, 86.5%-99.6%)] for distinguishing ACC from benign tumors. Of the four, creatine riboside and four unknown features were validated. Creatine riboside, Nε,Nε,Nε-trimethyl-L-lysine, and two unknown features were elevated in ACC tumors.Conclusions: There are unique urinary metabolic features in patients with ACC with some metabolites present in patient tumor samples. Urinary creatine riboside can differentiate benign adrenal neoplasms from ACC. Clin Cancer Res; 23(17); 5302-10. ©2017 AACR.

Surgery for recurrent adrenocortical carcinoma: A multicenter retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare neoplasm with a high rate of recurrence. We studied the impact of surgery on the survival in recurrent adrenocortical carcinoma patients.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective review of patients with recurrent adrenocortical carcinoma, managed in 5 French University Hospitals between 1980 and 2014. We compared surgery and medical management for ACC recurrence.

RESULTS

Fifty-nine patients were included, 46 of whom had an initial R0 resection. Twenty-nine patients underwent reoperation for recurrence, while 30 had nonoperative treatments. Operated patients had a greater median overall survival after recurrence than nonoperated patients (91 vs 15 months; P < .001). Patients operated on for local or distant recurrence had similar overall survival (110 vs 91 months; P = .81). In nonoperated patients, types of medical managements did not impact survival. Surgery for recurrence (P = .037) and a disease-free interval between initial resection and recurrence >12 months (P = .059) were both prognostic factors for improved survival, whereas age, stage, and tumor size (P ≥ .2 each) were not. A Ki67 <25% tended to be associated with better overall survival (P = .051).

CONCLUSION

Both surgery for recurrence and disease-free interval between the initial resection of an adrenocortical carcinoma and recurrence >12 months are associated with better overall survival.

Does Lymphadenectomy Improve Survival in Patients with Adrenocortical Carcinoma? A Population-Based Study

BACKGROUND

A recent study suggested a survival benefit in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) who had undergone lymphadenectomy. The objective of this study was to study the effect of lymphadenectomy on the survival rates of patients with ACC.

METHODS

Data from adult patients with histology-proven ACC from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 Registries (1973-2011) were analyzed to assess the impact of lymphadenectomy (≥4 lymph nodes removed) on disease-specific survival (DSS).

RESULTS

Of 1525 patients with ACC, 45% were male. 36, 20, and 44% of patients presented with localized, regional, and distant metastatic diseases, respectively. 8% of patients (n = 67/802) underwent lymphadenectomy. We observed a higher rate of lymphadenectomy performed in patients with regional disease [locally advanced tumors (stage T3 and T4) and/or lymph node metastasis] and distant metastasis than in those with localized tumors (12.4% and 12.0 vs. 5.1, respectively, p < 0.01) and in patients with primary tumor sizes >10 cm (12.4 vs. 4.2 %, p < 0.01). Lymph node metastasis was present in 12.8% (19.2% in locally advanced ACC). A lymphadenectomy was not associated with improved DSS on univariate analysis (p = 0.30), regardless of tumor size or staging. Independent prognostic factors included: ages ≥60 years (p < 0.01, HR 1.70), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.01, HR 1.7), distant metastasis (p < 0.01, HR 5.6), complete resection of tumor (p < 0.01, HR 0.47), and debulking surgery (p < 0.01, HR 0.49).

CONCLUSION

A lymphadenectomy is not commonly performed in patients with ACC in the U.S. Although we found no survival benefit in this cohort with a low rate of lymphadenectomy, a lymphadenectomy may be considered in patients with locally advanced tumors (T3 and T4) due to a higher rate of lymph node metastasis.

Adrenocortical carcinoma: modern management and evolving treatment strategies

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare cancer with a poor prognosis. Unlike many other cancers, there has been little improvement in patient outcome over the past several decades. However, as scientific advancements are made and our understanding of the molecular genetics involved in ACC improve then progress may be achieved in this devastating disease. This review focuses on recent literature published in the field of ACC from 2010 to 2015 with an emphasis on improving diagnosis, staging and treatment for ACC.

Metastatic adrenal cortical carcinoma to T12 vertebrae

We report spinal metastasis of adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC) to the T12 vertebrae with epidural extension. ACC is a rare malignancy with poor prognosis and high rates of metastasis. However, spinal lesions of ACC are rare, and few have been reported in the literature. We discuss our management of this lesion and review the current understanding and treatment of ACC and spinal metastasis.

The challenge of managing adrenocortical carcinoma: two case studies

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare entity affecting 1–2 people per million. It has a relatively poor prognosis, with an overall 5-year survival of 20–45%. The reasons include a high risk of recurrence following resection and relatively poor response to cytotoxic treatment. The use of the adrenalytic mitotane as adjuvant therapy is supported by level III evidence from cohort studies. In the metastatic setting, one randomized controlled trial provides level II evidence for a three-drug chemotherapy combination of cisplatin, etoposide and doxorubicin, with mitotane (EDP–M). We present two cases of adrenocortical carcinoma and discuss their management in light of the literature supporting the treatments. These cases illustrate the practicalities of management requiring a multidisciplinary team with the oncologist, endocrinologist, surgeon, anesthetist, radiologist and pathologist, all working in collaboration.

Adrenocortical carcinoma with inferior vena cava, left renal vein and right atrium tumor thrombus extension

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ACC is a rare and aggressive type of tumor, the prognosis is poor.

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Frequently, vena cava invasion occurs.

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Infrequently, tumor thrombus can extend to the right atrium.

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R0 resection is the only curative option.

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Thrombectomy required the assistance of cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermia.

Introduction

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare, but highly aggressive type of tumor with an annual incidence of 1–2 cases per million. The prognosis is poor with a five-year overall survival rate of ∼35%. The poor prognosis may be related to the advanced stage at which the majority of ACCs are detected. Complete surgical resection remains the most effective treatment.

Presentation of the case

A 51-year-old female patient with recent onset of dyspepsia, ascites and peripheral edema was referred to our institution. Computed tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) displayed a 8 cm Ø right adrenal mass. Moreover a tumor thrombus jutted out into the IVC, left renal vein and right atrium. An echocardiographic evaluation confirmed the presence of the tumor thrombus in the right atrium. The patient underwent adrenalectomy with removal of its intravascular extension with the assistance of cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermia.

Discussion

ACC is a rare malignancy and ACC with tumor thrombus extension is a rare presentation. Patients can present with a variety of sign and symptoms, depending on the extent of the tumor. CT scan of chest and abdomen represents the gold standard in ACC staging while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is preferred for tumor thrombus characterization. Complete surgical resection with a negative margin, R0 resection, is the only curative option for localized disease. Kidney sparing surgery should be performed when possible.

Conclusion

We present a rare case of Adrenocortical carcinoma with tumor thrombus extending into the IVC and right atrium. Complete resection with negative margins represents the best therapeutic chance for these patients.