Adrenocortical carcinoma presenting with heterosexual pseudoprecocious puberty shortly after birth: case report and review

Pseudo-precocious Puberty Associated with an Adrenocortical Tumor in a Young Child

Precocious puberty is commonly observed in pediatric practice due to different causes, including adrenal tumors. Adrenocortical tumors are rare in children and are characterized by an androgenic hormonal excess that causes pseudo-precocious puberty. We present the case of a four-year-old boy with a history of penile enlargement associated with the growth of pubic hair, facial acne, and three-years advanced bone age. Based on hormonal assays, the diagnosis of pseudo-precocious puberty was confirmed. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a right-sided, retroperitoneal, well-defined adrenal tumor. This case report emphasizes the aim to increase the awareness of adrenocortical tumor as a rare cause of pseudo-precocious puberty in young children.

Rare Presentation of Adrenocortical Carcinoma in a 4-Month-Old Boy

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy and even rarer in infancy. Most of these tumors in pediatric age group are hormonally active and predominantly present with virilization. Cortisol hypersecretion presenting as Cushing syndrome is extremely rare and seen in older age groups. We report a 4-month-old infant who presented with linear growth arrest and excessive weight gain in early infancy, consequently diagnosed with ACC. On long-term follow-up for 7 years, he remained metastasis free following surgical resection and was not treated with chemotherapy.