Limitation of the current Lin-Weiss-Bisceglia criteria in predicting poor prognosis in oncocytic adrenocortical neoplasms of uncertain malignant potential and oncocytoma diagnosed by the Lin-Weiss-Bisceglia criteria.

BACKGROUND

Oncocytic adrenocortical neoplasms (OANs) are extremely rare adrenal tumors whose diagnosis is challenging. This study aimed to identify risk factors for predicting poor prognosis in patients with OAN of uncertain malignant potential (OANUMP) and oncocytoma, OAN subtypes, and to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the current Lin-Weiss-Bisceglia (LWB) criteria.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 14 patients diagnosed with OANUMP or oncocytoma after adrenalectomy from February 2002 to May 2022. Patients re-classified as oncocytic adrenocortical carcinoma by the LWB criteria were excluded. We compared the clinicopathological and radiological features between patients with and without recurrence.

RESULTS

Among the 14 patients, recurrence occurred in 3 (21%; 2 (67%) and 1 (33%) patients with OANUMP and oncocytoma, respectively). The proportion of patients with necrosis (66.7% vs 9.1%,  = 0.093), a Helsinki score >5 (66.7% vs 9.1%,  = 0.093), and malignancy by the reticulin algorithm (66.7% vs 9.1%,  = 0.093) were higher in the recurrence group than in the no-recurrence group but were not statistically significant. The percentages of patients with an indeterminate pathological resection margin (100% vs 63.6%,  = 0.192) tended to be higher in the recurrence group than in the no-recurrence group. Of the three patients with recurrence, two had tumor necrosis on the final pathology and were classified as malignant by the reticulin algorithm. One patient diagnosed as OANUMP by the LWB criteria had tumor necrosis and was classified as malignant by the reticulin algorithm and Helsinki scoring system.

CONCLUSION

Necrosis was associated with the recurrence of disease in patients with OANUMP according to the LWB criteria. The absence of necrosis as a major criterion in the current LWB criteria highlights its potential limitation in accurately assessing disease aggressiveness in OANs.