Clinical indications, safety, and effectiveness of percutaneous image-guided adrenal mass biopsy: an 8-year retrospective analysis in 160 patients.

PURPOSE: To assess indications, safety, and effectiveness of percutaneous adrenal mass biopsy in contemporary practice. METHODS: This institutional review board-approved, retrospective study included all patients undergoing percutaneous image-guided adrenal mass biopsies at an academic health system from January 6, 2015, to January 6, 2023. Patient demographics, biopsy indications, mass size, laboratory data, pathology results, and complications were recorded. Final diagnoses were based on pathology or ≥ 1 year of imaging follow-up when biopsy specimens did not yield malignant tissue. Test performance calculations excluded repeat biopsies. Continuous variables were compared with Student's t test, dichotomous variables with chi-squared test. RESULTS: A total of 160 patients underwent 186 biopsies. Biopsies were indicated to diagnose metastatic disease (139/186; 74.7%), for oncologic research only (27/186; 14.5%), diagnose metastatic disease and oncologic research (15/186; 8%), and diagnose an incidental adrenal mass (5/186; 2.7%). Biopsy specimens were diagnostic in 154 patients (96.3%) and non-diagnostic in 6 (3.8%). Diagnostic biopsies yielded malignant tissue (n = 136), benign adrenal tissue (n = 12), and benign adrenal neoplasms (n = 6) with sensitivity = 98.6% (136/138), specificity = 100% (16/16), positive predictive value = 100% (136/136), and negative predictive value = 88.9% (16/18). Adverse events followed 11/186 procedures (5.9%) and most minor (7/11, 63.6%). The adverse event rate was similar whether tissue was obtained for clinical or research purposes (10/144; 6.9% vs. 1/42; 2.4%, p = 0.27), despite more specimens obtained for research (5.8 vs. 3.7, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Percutaneous adrenal mass biopsy is safe, accurate, and utilized almost exclusively to diagnose metastatic disease or for oncologic research. The negative predictive value is high when diagnostic tissue samples are obtained. Obtaining specimens for research does not increase adverse event risk.

To biopsy or not to biopsy adrenal mass: is that the question?

The European Society of Endocrinology recommends surgical approach for suspicious adrenal mass with a limited role for adrenal biopsy. We report here a case of a patient with a 70 mm adrenal mass in whom adrenal biopsy avoided unnecessary adrenalectomy. An 80-year-old man was explored for a 67 × 41 mm suspect left adrenal tumor. Hormonal explorations were normal. 18F-FDG-PET/CT showed an increase in uptake of the adrenal mass (SUVmax: 44.6). As the diagnostic was uncertain, biopsy was performed. Pathology found T lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate with CD4 phenotype without malignancy criteria. Simple close monitoring was decided in multidisciplinary meeting and with the patient's consent. At 1 and 3 months, CT and 18F-FDG-PET/CT showed a significant decrease in size and uptake of adrenal mass (40 × 20 mm and 19 × 10 mm and SUVmax 5.9 and 0.0). This report shows the interest of adrenal biopsy for well-selected cases to avoid unnecessary adrenal surgery.

Incidental, Solitary, and Unilateral Adrenal Metastasis as the Initial Manifestation of Lung Adenocarcinoma.

An adrenal incidentaloma is an adrenal mass ≥ 1 cm in size discovered on imaging performed for indications other than suspected adrenal disease. It has variable etiologies, which can be benign or malignant, including primary or metastatic disease. We present a rare case of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma with isolated unilateral adrenal metastases, presenting as an adrenal incidentaloma in an asymptomatic patient with no known history of malignancy. A 76-year-old man with a past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heavy tobacco use was admitted for the evaluation and treatment of pneumonia. He was found to have an incidental 4.6 cm unilateral adrenal mass on his CT chest. He underwent a workup for the mass, including further imaging studies that were indeterminate and a hormonal workup that concluded that the mass was nonfunctional. Due to the patient's comorbidities, it was determined that he was not a surgical candidate. A multidisciplinary team recommended a biopsy, which revealed metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. The primary lung cancer was located using positron emission tomography with 2-deoxy-2-(fluorine-18) fluoro-D-glucose combined with computed tomography (F-FDG-PET/CT). The patient was evaluated by an oncology service and started on chemotherapy. In this case report, we discuss the approach for evaluating adrenal incidentalomas as well as the role the biopsy has in this process based on a literature review. In addition, we draw a comparison between our case and similar cases in the literature while highlighting the differences that make this case unique.

Multiple endocrinological failures as a clinical presentation of a metastatic lung adenocarcinoma.

SUMMARY: Multiple endocrine metastases are a rare but possible complication of lung adenocarcinoma (LAC). Pituitary metastasis is a rare condition with poor clinical expression. Diabetes insipidus (DI) is its most common presenting symptom. Here we report an original case of a pituitary stalk (PS) metastasis from LAC presenting as central DI followed by adrenal insufficiency (AI) from bilateral adrenal metastasis, without known evidence of the primary malignancy. A 45-year-old woman whose first clinical manifestations were polyuria and polydipsia was admitted. She was completely asymptomatic with no cough, no weight loss or anorexia. Chest radiography was normal. Brain MRI showed a thick pituitary stalk (PS). DI was confirmed by water restriction test and treated with vasopressin with great clinical results. Explorations for systemic and infectious disease were negative. Few months later, an acute AI led to discovering bilateral adrenal mass on abdominal CT. A suspicious 2.3 cm apical lung nodule was found later. Histopathological adrenal biopsy revealed an LAC. The patient received systemic chemotherapy with hormonal replacement for endocrinological failures by both vasopressin and hydrocortisone. We present this rare case of metastatic PS thickness arising from LAC associated with bilateral adrenal metastasis. Screening of patients with DI and stalk thickness for lung and breast cancer must be considered. Multiple endocrine failures as a diagnostic motive of LAC is a rare but possible circumstance. LEARNING POINTS: Adrenal metastasis is a common location in lung adenocarcinoma; however, metastatic involvement of the pituitary stalk remains a rare occurrence, especially as a leading presentation to diagnose lung cancer. The posterior pituitary and the infundibulum are the preferential sites for metastases, as they receive direct arterial blood supply from hypophyseal arteries. Patients diagnosed with diabetes insipidus due to pituitary stalk thickness should be considered as a metastasis, after exclusion of the classical systemic and infectious diseases. The diagnosis of an endocrinological metastatic primary lung adenocarcinoma for patients without respiratory symptoms is often delayed due to a lack of correlation between endocrinological symptoms and lung cancer. The main originality of our case is the concomitant diagnosis of both endocrinological failures, as it was initiated with a diabetes insipidus and followed by an acute adrenal insufficiency.

Management of suspected adrenal metastases at 2 academic medical centers.

BACKGROUND: The optimal management of suspected adrenal metastases remains controversial. METHODS: This is a retrospective bi-institutional review of 37 patients who underwent adrenalectomy for suspected adrenal metastasis between 2001 and 2014. RESULTS: Three (8%) patients had benign adenomas on final pathology. At a median follow-up of 21 months, 7 (32%) patients were alive with no evidence of disease and 7 (32%) were alive with recurrent disease. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 8 months; decreased RFS was associated with positive margins and size ≥6 cm. Overall survival (OS) was 29 months; decreased OS was associated with capsular disruption. There were no differences in RFS or OS by surgical approach. CONCLUSIONS: The favorable OS supports adrenalectomy in select patients with suspected adrenal metastases. Minimally invasive adrenalectomy is safe and effective, but the surgical approach should be based on the ability to achieve a margin-negative resection with avoidance of capsular disruption.

CT guided percutaneous adrenal biopsy for lesions with equivocal findings in chemical shift MR imaging.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of CT guided adrenal biopsy in patients with equivocal MR chemical shift imaging findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty seven patients, 32 with history of malignancy and 25 without history of malignancy, 30 men and 27 women (33-82 years, mean age:58.8 years), with equivocal findings in chemical shift MR imaging, were subjected to CT guided percutaneous adrenal biopsy. RESULTS: From the 57 lesions that were sent for histopathological evaluation, 31 proved to be metastases (54.4%), 20 adenomas (35.1%), 3 cortical carcinomas (5.3%), 1 benign pheochromocytoma (1.8%) and 2 samples were non diagnostic(3.5%). In oncology patients metastases were found in 28/32 of the patients (87.5%) and adenomas in 3/32 (9.4%), while in patients without history of malignancy, metastases were found in 3/25 of the patients (12%) and adenomas in 17/25 (68%). CONCLUSION: CT guided percutaneous adrenal biopsy is a safe and accurate method for a definite diagnosis of adrenal lesions. Since most adrenal lesions are benign, dedicated adrenal imaging is necessary for choosing which of them have to be further evaluated by biopsy. Chemical shift adrenal imaging alone seems to be a reliable method and can be used alternatively to CT enhancement washout technique for selecting which lesions are suspicious of malignancy and have to be investigated with biopsy, especially in cases where iodine contrast media is contraindicated.