Incidental adrenal masses almost always prove benign

Clinical experience with nearly 1000 patients suggests incidental adrenal tumors detected during abdominal CT scans are almost always benign.

Dr. Julie H. Song, a radiologist at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, and colleagues retrospectively reviewed data from 973 patients who had no history of malignancy or clinical suspicion of a hormonally active adrenal mass.

These patients had 1049 adrenal masses identified on CT. The investigators found, however, that none of these lesions was malignant. All masses were confirmed as benign either histopathologically or by imaging or clinical follow-up.

Seventy-five percent of lesions were adenomas. No malignant adrenal masses were found, even among the 14 patients who later developed malignancy elsewhere.

Results were published in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.