Endocrinology and Metabolism

Case Reports

A Case of Adrenocortical Adenoma Causing Cushing's Syndrome with Contralateral Nonfunctioning Adenoma.: Sun Young Kyung, Hye Sook Hahn, Hyo Joong Yoon, Young Ha Hwang, Chan Jong Seo, Yeon Sil Jeong, Hong Kyu Kim, Hye Young Park, Hyung Sik Kim, Jeong Nam Lee, Seung Yeon Ha, Moon Ho Kang; J Korean Endocr Soc. 2002;17(2):286-291. Published online April 1, 2002

Abstract PDF: We report the case of a 43-year-old woman with Cushing's syndrome showing bilateral adrenococortical adenomas. We performed bilateral selective adrenal vein samplings. Hypersecretion of cortisol on the left sided adrenal tumor was observed, but no evidence of cortisol hypersecretion from the adrenal tumor on the right side was observed. The left adrenal tumor was resected selectively, but the right adrenal gland was reserved. The left adrenal tumor was histologically diagnosed as a adrenal adenoma without any evidence of nodular hyperplasia. Following the resection of the left adrenal gland, no cortisol hypersecretion from the remaining adrenal tumor on the right side was observed until now, suggesting that a selective adrenalectomy of functioning adenoma may be an acceptable treatment modality.

A Case of Black Adrenocortical Adenoma Causing Cushing's Syndrome with Contralateral Nonfuncioning Adenoma.: Do Joon Park, Kyung Soo Park, Kyung Jae Nam, Sung Yeon Kim, Bo Yeon Cho, Hong Gyu Lee, Yeo Kyu Yoon, Seung Keun Oh; J Korean Endocr Soc. 1999;14(2):410-417. Published online January 1, 2001

Abstract PDF: We report herein the case of a 38-year-old woman with Cushings syndrome caused by bilateral adrenocortical adenomas. The adrenal tumor on the left side hypersecreted cortisol and no findings of cortisol hypersecretion from the adrenal tumor on the right side were observed on bilateral adrenal vein samplings. Both adrenal tumors were resected and histologically without any findings of nodular hyperplasia. The left adrenal tumor was histologically diagnosed as a so-called black adenoma. These data imply that the adrenal adenomas developed primarily from the adrenal gland itself, and that one of the tumors was well differentiated and secreted excess hormones, while the other remained in cell proliferation without hypersecretion.

Unolateral Aldosterone-producing Adenoma with a Contralateral Black Adenoma.: Eun Young Oh, Myung Shik Lee, Young Hee Lim, Soo Jung Kang, Jung Hak Chun, Byoung Joon Kim, Jae Hoon Chung, Yong Ki Min, Moon Kyu Lee, Kwang Won Kim, Jung Hyun Yang; J Korean Endocr Soc. 1999;14(1):177-182. Published online January 1, 2001

Abstract PDF: Primary aldosteronism due to unilateral adenoma is a rare cause of surgically curable hypertension. Bilateral adrenal mass has occasionally been reported in this syndrome, and bilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA), or bilateral adrenal nodular hyperplasia have been demonstrated in some cases. However, another possibility is the coexistence of a unilateral APA with a contralateral benign or metastatic nonfunctioning mass, because adrenal tumors are frequently found at autopsy or incidentally detected during abdominal morphological evaluation in patients without adrenal dysfunction. A 39 year-old woman presented with hyperaldosteronism, suppressed renin levels, and bilateral adrenal mass on adrenal CT scanning. Selective adrenal venous sampling was unsuccessful in demonstrating concentration gradient of aldosterone. Postoperative measurement of hormone content in the tumor extract revealed unilateral aldosteron-producing adenoma with contralateral nonfunctioning black adenoma, Determination of hormone content in the tumor extract could be useful for the discrimination of functioning and nonfunctioning endocrine tumors, particularly in case of multiple tumors.

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