[Adrenal incidentalomas]

Abstract

Adrenal incidentalomas are found in approximately 2-3% of abdominal CT-scan examinations. A key issue is to determine whether the incidentaloma is neoplastic or responsible for endocrine hypersecretion, two situations in which surgical excision is recommended. Candidate incidentalomas for surgery include hypersecreting tumors (pheochromocytomas, Cushing's adenoma, Conn's adenoma) and adrenocortical carcinomas. The majority of adrenal incidentalomas are non-secreting cortical adenomas and lesions to remove account for less than 5% of adrenal incidentalomes. The pathological consequences of "subclinical" cortisol-secreting adenomas responsible for mild hypercortisolism and whether or not these tumors should be removed remain debatable.