title: Aldosterone-secreting adrenal cortical carcinoma. A case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Adrenal cortical carcinomas (ACC) are rare, typically aggressive malignant neoplasms with a reported incidence of 1-2 cases per 1 million population and account for 0.05-0.2 % of all malignancies. The majority of these tumors are functional with approximately 60 % of patients experiencing endocrine symptomatology typically characterized by Cushing's syndrome (40 %) or a mixed hormonal picture of Cushing syndrome seen in association with virilization. Rarely, patients present with a pure hormonal syndrome of feminization or hyperaldosteronism, 6 and 2.5 %, respectively. We report a case of a 76-year-old woman presenting with recently diagnosed hypertension secondary to primary hyperaldosteronism. The patient underwent laparoscopic converted to an open adrenalectomy and a diagnosis of adrenocortical carcinoma (aldosteronoma clinical) was rendered. This case and review of the literature highlight that while rare, aldosterone-secreting adrenal cortical carcinomas may occur. In this case report, we discuss the clinical presentation, pathologic findings, and review the literature for adrenal cortical carcinomas and aldosterone-secreting adrenal cortical carcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Passavant Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 9100 Babcock Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA, 15237, USA, carruthgriffina@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Adrienne Carruth
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kelz
authors.forename: Virginia A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: LiVolsi
mesh_terms: D000306:Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018268:Adrenocortical Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000368:Aged; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006929:Hyperaldosteronism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000450:Aldosterone