Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a malignant tumour arising from the adrenal cortex, whereas pheochromocytoma is a tumour of the adrenal medulla with occasional presence at extra-adrenal sites.
Most of the adrenocortical tumours present clinically with Cushing's syndrome and signs of virilization due to over-production of the respective hormones. It is, however, rare for an adrenocortical tumour to present clinically as a pheochromocytoma. We report the case of a 45-year-old female presenting with clinical symptoms and signs of pheochromocytoma and investigations that resulted in a diagnostic dilemma. The histopathological examination confirmed the presence of ACC after the tumour was excised. This phenomenon was due to the presence of neuroendocrine features of ACC referred to, as a pseudo-pheochromocytoma with extremely limited data in the literature.
Written by:
Jain S, Agarwal L, Nadkarni S, Ameta A, Goyal A, Kumar R, Rao A, Gupta K. Are you the author?
S.M.S Medical College and Attached Hospitals, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Reference: J Surg Case Rep. 2014 May 12;2014(5). pii: rju030.
doi: 10.1093/jscr/rju030
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24876502
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