Primary non-functioning tumours of the adrenal cortex: an eight-year experience in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE

To report our eight year experience of the treatment of primary non-functioning adrenal tumours diagnosed incidentally by computed tomography or ultrasonography.

DESIGN

Open study.

SETTING

University hospital, Turkey.

SUBJECTS

20 patients with primary non-functioning adrenal tumours that were diagnosed incidentally during the eight years 1986-93 and who were treated in our department.

INTERVENTIONS

All patients underwent detailed endocrine studies followed by unilateral adrenalectomy.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Morbidity, mortality, and outcome.

RESULTS

There were 18 women and 2 men, mean age 50 (range 24-67). No patient died and one developed a wound infection. Histopathological examination showed adrenocortical adenoma (n = 17), carcinoma (n = 2, one of which was a 57-year-old woman with a 35 mm tumour), and hyperplasia (n = 1).

CONCLUSION

Excision of non-functioning adrenal tumours is safe and we recommend it because there are no exclusion criteria for malignancy, and non-operative treatment has not been clearly defined.