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Adrenocortical Adenoma

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Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

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Definition

Adrenal cortical adenoma is a benign neoplastic proliferation of the adrenal cortex. It is generally a solitary, unilateral mass that can be associated with an endocrine syndrome or be functionally inactive (Lack 2007).

Clinical Features

The presenting symptoms of an adrenal cortical adenoma depend on whether the tumor is functioning or nonfunctioning, and which hormone/s is/are oversecreted. The most frequent endocrine disorder is hyperaldosteronism, followed by Cushing syndrome, virilization, and, rarely, feminization. Mixed endocrine syndromes may also be observed. In adults, most adrenal tumors manifesting with virilization or feminization are clinically malignant (Lack 2007).

  • Incidence

    Adrenal cortical adenoma is the most prevalent primary adrenal tumor and the most common incidentally discovered adrenal lesion (Young 2007; Lam 2017). Since many adrenal cortical adenomas are clinically inapparent, estimates of their prevalence vary from 1% to 8.7% in autopsy series and...

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References and Further Reading

  • Fassnacht, M., Arlt, W., Bancos, I., Dralle, H., Newell-Price, J., Sahdev, A., Tabarin, A., Terzolo, M., Tsagarakis, S., & Dekkers, O. M. (2016). Management of adrenal incidentalomas: European Society of Endocrinology Clinical Practice Guideline in collaboration with the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors. European Journal of Endocrinology, 175, G1–G34.

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  • Lack, E. E. (Ed.). (2007). Atlas of tumour pathology: tumors of the adrenal gland and extra-adrenal paraganglia (Fascicle 8, series 4). Washington, DC: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

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  • Lam, A. K. (2017). Update on Adrenal Tumours in 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) of Endocrine Tumours. Endocrine Pathology, 28, 213–227.

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  • Lloyd, R. V. (2011). Adrenal cortical tumors, pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. Modern Pathology, 24(Suppl 2), S58–S65.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Young, W. F., Jr. (2007). Clinical Practice. The incidentally discovered adrenal mass. New England Journal of Medicine, 356, 601–610.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pathological Anatomy Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy

    Raffaella Santi

  2. Pathological Anatomy Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Gabriella Nesi

Authors
  1. Raffaella Santi
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  2. Gabriella Nesi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriella Nesi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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Santi, R., Nesi, G. (2020). Adrenocortical Adenoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5236-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5236-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

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