Published in:
01-02-2008 | Letters to the Editor
Isolated Adrenal Mass in Cachectic Patients—Don’t Forget Malignant Pheochromocytoma
Authors:
Rinkoo Dalan, MBBS, MRCP (UK), Veerendra Chadachan, MBBS, MRCP (UK), Melvin Khee Shing Leow, MBBS, MMed, MSc, FACP (USA), FACE (USA), FAMS (Endocr), PhD
Published in:
Annals of Surgical Oncology
|
Issue 2/2008
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Excerpt
We refer with much interest to the study by Adler et al., in which the incidence of pheochromocytoma was found to be surprisingly high in the setting of an isolated adrenal mass in patients with cancer, even though adrenal metastases would routinely be considered top on the list of differential diagnosis.
1 In the course of investigative work-up of many deep-seated neoplasms these days, image-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy is frequently employed to allow histological identification that in turn dictates oncological management.
2 However, such investigations are potentially perilous especially for tumors located in the suprarenal territory and its adjacent region, as some of these could well be functionally active catecholamine-secreting tumors, as aptly emphasized in the study. …
