Case report: An ectopic adrenocortical adenoma in the renal sinus

Abstract

BackgroundEctopic adrenal tissue is rare in adults, with an incidence of only about 1%. We report a rare case of ectopic adrenocortical adenoma in the left renal sinus.Case PreentationA 57-year-old woman was admitted to the Department of Urology due to “a left kidney tumor” on physical examination. Multislice helical computed tomography (CT) showed the left kidney with an anterior lip mass near the hilum, approximately 2.3 cm × 2.2 cm in size. Preoperative renal artery CT angiography (CTA) showed no obvious abnormality. Laparoscopic resection of the left renal sinus mass was performed, and postoperative pathological findings showed ectopic adrenocortical adenoma. The tumor was a nonfunctional adenoma.ConclusionRenal ectopic adrenal cortical adenoma is rare. Most of them are nonfunctional adenomas, which cannot be clearly diagnosed by preoperative imaging examination and can often be diagnosed by postoperative pathology.

Pheochromocytoma in an Ectopic Adrenal Gland

“…Indeed, our patient underwent an adrenalectomy. Some reports recommend surgeons to resect lesions suspicious of ectopic adrenal tissue during surgery [14,15], whereas others suggest that it is important to diagnose ectopic adrenal tissue as non-invasively as possible considering that they require no treatment due to their asymptomatic nature [16].…”

Different Ectopic Endocrine Tumors on Renal Hilum Detected by 68Ga-DOTATATE PET

“…4 There are a few reports of ectopic adrenal tumors and paraganglioma in the renal hilar region. [5][6][7][8] So, it needs to be included in the differential diagnosis of tumors involving the renal hilum to avoid misdiagnosis leading to wrong surgery. Patients with endocrine tumors have a wide variety of clinical manifestations, so searching for the causative lesions accurately is particularly important for clinical diagnosis.…”

“…Paraganglioma arising from the extra-adrenal autonomic paraganglia, which usually secrete catecholamines, is located in the sympathetic paravertebral ganglia, and the para-aortic region is the most common site 4. There are a few reports of ectopic adrenal tumors and paraganglioma in the renal hilar region [5][6][7][8]. So, it needs to be included in the differential diagnosis of tumors involving the renal hilum to avoid misdiagnosis leading to wrong surgery.…”