Outcome in patients with adrenal incidentaloma selected for surgery: an analysis of 88 cases investigated in a single clinical center

Abstract

This study points to a high rate of pheochromocytomas and malignant tumors in patients selected for surgery. This high rate differs from some previous reports and might be explained by the criteria used to select patients for surgery. Among these two groups of tumors, careful systematic endocrinological investigations allow the detection of altered secretion in the vast majority - if not all - malignant tumors of adrenal origin and pheochromocytomas. Only 5% of the incidentalomas below 30 mm selected for surgery in this study were malignant, in keeping with the use of this criteria as an important parameter to select patients with normal hormonal investigations for careful follow-up.