Adrenal ablation.

Of 135 patients who had bilateral adrenalectomies for metastatic breast cancer, 110 could be evaluated and 63 patients (57.3%) responded (43 objective, 20 subjective responders). Patients aged 31 to 45 years had a 56% response rate; 58% of patients aged 46 to 70 responded. Oophorectomy responders benefited from adrenalectomy 62% of the time and oophorectomy failures reponded in 38% of the cases. Patients with a disease-free interval of zero to 2.5 years responded to adrenalectomy at a rate of 46%, whereas patients with a free interval greater than 2.5 years responded at a rate of 73%. The median survival rate of 63 adrenalectomy responders was 28 months; it was ten months for 47 nonresponders.