ADRENAL ADENOCARCINOMA - A REVIEW OF 53 CASES

Problem: Fifty-three patients (30 men, 23 women) with histologically p roven adrenal carcinoma were reviewed. Nineteen (36%) had endocrine ma nifestations from functioning tumors. Arteriography was positive in 95 % (19/20), CT scan in 94% (17/18), and ultrasound in 92% (12/13). Seve nty-six percent of the patients, at the time of diagnosis, were stage III and IV. Most common metastatic sites were the liver, lymph nodes, bone, and lungs. Local recurrence developed in 39% of cases (15/38). M ethod: Forty-one patients underwent an operation. Complete surgical re moval of all gross tumor was achieved in 24 patients. Result: The over all median survival time was 8 months, and the estimated 5-year surviv al rate 19%. There were significant differences in survival between th e various stages (P = 0.01) and between the group of patients who unde rwent complete excision of the tumor and those with incomplete resecti on (P = 0.002). Conclusions: Complete surgical excision offers the bes t prospect for long-term survival in localized adrenal carcinoma. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.