Association of Adrenal Ganglioneuroma with Addison’s Disease: A Case Study

Abstract

Adrenal ganglioneuroma is a rare tumor originating from the neural crest cells. The clinical presentation for most patients is asymptomatic, and most of those tumors are hormone silent. An association with autoimmune damage, particularly in Addison's disease has never been reported. We will describe a case of adrenal ganglioneuroma incidentally diagnosed in a 24-year-old female patient whose physical examination, routine laboratory studies and hormonal tests were within normal ranges. Abdominal computed tomography showed a solid oval tumor approximately 51x33 mm in the right adrenal gland without calcification or any remarkable signs of malignancy. Right adrenalectomy was performed for treatment purposes. Histological diagnosis of the tumor revealed the presence of a ganglioneuroma originating from the adrenal medulla. The immediate post-operative evolution was complicated by acute adrenal failure whose etiologic investigation was in favor of an Addison's disease.