A child with adrenocortical adenoma accompanied by congenital hemihypertrophy: Report of a case

We report herein the findings of a 7-year-old male child with a ruptured ad renocortical adenoma and congenital hemihypertrophy which was incidentally detected after suffering a trauma. A review of 21 pediatric cases of adreno cortical neoplasms in the literature was made. The patient showed precociou s puberty such as pubis and advanced bone age, but an endocrinological exam ination revealed no definite abnormalities. The right adrenal tumor with he matoma was resected after these evaluations. Adrenocortical adenoma is cons idered to occur more frequently in female children. However, the incidence of adrenocortical tumors accompanied by congenital hemihypertrophy does not differ between males and females. The outcomes were relatively good, altho ugh the observation periods were short in some patients. A large number of patients presented with a tumor and hemihypertrophy on the same side. This finding is of interest when considering the possible association between he mihypertrophy of the organs and tumor proliferation. However, their associa tion in terms of development was unclear. It is necessary for patients with hemihypertrophy to have regular examinations for the possible development of malignant tumors, especially in the kidney, adrenal gland, and liver.