Many Faces of Adrenal Lesions in a Large Patient Cohort: What Has Changed Over the Last Two Decades?

OBJECTIVE: To review the presentation characteristics, clinical and hormonal evaluations, and histopathological results of patients with adrenal lesions over a 21-year period and evaluate the changes across the two decades.

METHODS: This single-center, retrospective study included 1003 patients with adrenal lesions who presented to our department between 2000 and 2021. Clinical, metabolic, hormonal, radiological, and pathological data of the patients were collected.

RESULTS: Forty-seven percent of the lesions were non-functioning adrenal adenomas. Possible autonomous and autonomous cortisol secretion were detected in 22.2% of the patients. The percentages of the patients diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, primary hyperaldosteronism, adrenal Cushing syndrome, adrenocortical carcinoma, and adrenal metastasis were 7.4%, 4.8%, 4.7%, 0.9%, and 5.6%, respectively. Adrenalectomy was performed in 31.3% of the patients. Functional adrenal lesions were the leading cause of surgery (46.5%), followed by large size and/or suspicious imaging features (38.6%). Among the patients referred to surgery due to large size (≥6 cm), the diagnosis in 19% was metastasis, and in 12.1%, it was primary adrenocortical carcinoma. In patients with adrenal lesions with a size of 4-6 cm and suspicious imaging properties, the rates of metastasis and primary adrenocortical carcinoma were 44.4% and 4.8%, respectively. From the first to the second decade, major differences in presentation characteristics were increased detection of bilateral lesions and increased prevalence of possible autonomous and autonomous cortisol secretion.

CONCLUSIONS: Adrenal lesions are common in the adult population, and while it is important to avoid overtreatment, hormone secretion, and malignancy should not be overlooked.