Diagnostic algorithm of the subclinical forms of adrenal neoplasms

Abstract

The possibility of modifying the existing diagnostic algorithm of latent forms of hormone-active and potentially malignant formations in the adrenal glands using modern methods of laboratory diagnostics and radiation imaging is substantiated. In the clinic of a faculty of surgery and on its clinical base, experience in the examination and treatment of 1457 patients with various formations of the adrenal glands has been accumulated. Among them, 270 (14.9%) patients were selected, in whom precursor hormones of steroidogenesis and metabolites of catecholamines in the blood plasma were specially studied by high-performance liquid chromatography, tumor marker measurement, and three-phase computed tomography with intravenous contrast enhancement. Determination of steroidogenesis precursor hormones and catecholamine metabolites in the blood plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography in combination with traditional methods of laboratory diagnostics, use of computed tomography with intravenous contrast enhancement, construction of multiplanar reconstructions, and postprocessor image processing are the basis of a modified algorithm for verification of latent forms of hormone-active and potentially malignant tumors of the adrenal glands. The implementation of the diagnostic algorithm developed in the clinic made early diagnosis of the subclinical forms of NP neoplasms possible, as well as ensure the implementation of minimally invasive surgical interventions before the development of endocrine and metabolic disorders and consequently prevent the development of intraoperative and postoperative complications, which thereby reduce the duration of rehabilitation and disability of patients with good long-term treatment results and high quality of life.