Effects of 21-hydroxylase deficiency on male fertility / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia(CAH) is a group of autosomal recessive disorders caused by deficiency of specific enzymes in the adrenocortical hormone synthesis pathway, resulting in impaired corticosteroid synthesis. 21-hydroxylase deficiency is the most common type of CAH, and the disorder can lead to impaired fertility in patients. Most current studies have focused on fertility problems in female CAH patients. The most common causes of impaired fertility in men with 21-OHD include testicular adrenal rest tumors(TART), low gonadotropin secretion, and inappropriate glucocorticoid therapy. This article reviews the causes of impaired fertility and its treatment in male patients with 21-OHD, with the aim of providing guidance for improving the fertility of male patients with 21-OHD.

Clinical and research progress of congenital adrenal hyperplasia with adrenal rest tumor / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Adrenal rest tumor (ART) is a well-known complication in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), which may occur in all age groups, especially in adolescence and adulthood. Tumors that occur in the testicular known as testicularadrenal rest tumor (TART), in the ovarian and parovarian tissue known as ovarian adrenal rest tumor (OART). ART is one of the major causes of reproductive dysfunction in adult with CAH. Early prevention and treatment is the key to avoid irreversible damage to gonadal function. In the past, we paid more attention to TART in children, while ignored TART and OART in adults. This article will review the origin of tumor cells, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of CAH associated with ART, which aims to guide clinical work through the profound understanding of CAH with ART.

Clinical and research progress of congenital adrenal hyperplasia with adrenal rest tumor / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Adrenal rest tumor ( ART ) is a well-known complication in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH),which may occur in all age groups, especially in adolescence and adulthood. Tumors that occur in the testicular known as testicularadrenal rest tumor ( TART ) , in the ovarian and parovarian tissue known as ovarian adrenal rest tumor ( OART) . ART is one of the major causes of reproductive dysfunction in adult with CAH. Early prevention and treatment is the key to avoid irreversible damage to gonadal function. In the past, we paid more attention to TART in children, while ignored TART and OART in adults. This article will review the origin of tumor cells, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of CAH associated with ART, which aims to guide clinical work through the profound understanding of CAH with ART.

An Intrarenal Adrenocortical Carcinoma Arising in an Adrenal Rest

We describe a case of a 61-year-old Korean man who was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma that was discovered on abdominopelvic computed tomography obtained after the patient complained of back pain. A radical nephrectomy was performed, and the surgical specimen showed a relatively well-circumscribed and yellowish lobulated hard mass. Microscopically, the tumor showed sheets and nests of hypercellular pleomorphic cells with thick fibrous septation, frequent mitoses, and areas of adrenal cortical-like tissue. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the tumor cells were positive for inhibin-α, vimentin, synaptophysin, and melan A. It also revealed that the tumor cells were negative for pan-cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, paired box 8, α-methylacyl-coenzyme A racemase, CD10, cytokeratin 7, carbonic anhydrase 9, c-Kit, renal cell carcinoma, transcription factor E3, human melanoma black 45, desmin, smooth muscle actin, S-100, chromogranin A, CD34, anaplastic lymphoma kinase, and integrase interactor 1. Based on these histopathological and immunohistochemical findings, we diagnosed the tumor as intrarenal adrenocortical carcinoma arising in an adrenal rest. Several cases of intrarenal adrenocortical carcinoma have been reported, although they are very rare. Due to its poor prognosis and common recurrence or metastasis, clinicians and pathologists must be aware of this entity.

Extremely mild cholesterol side chain cleavage enzyme deficiency with infertility as the only presenting complaint / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

[Summary] All patients with cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme ( P450scc) deficiency that have been reported presented with early adrenal failure. Here we described a 35-year-old male presented with infertility as the only initial presenting complaint. He had received two separate surgeries to remove bilateral testicular masses. We reevaluated the resected tumors and found testicular adrenal rest tumor ( TART) pathology in the resected tumor. We profiled steroid hormones and found significantly elevated ACTH. CT scan revealed bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. Mutation screening identified compound heterozygous mutations (R353W and P432L) in the P450scc encoding gene (CYP11A1). The patient was finally diagnosed as congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Clinical manifestations of testicular adrenal rest tumor in males with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

PURPOSE: In male patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), the presence of testicular adrenal rest tumors (TARTs) have been reported, however their prevalence and clinical manifestations are not well known. Untreated TARTs may lead to testicular structural damage and infertility. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of TARTs in male patients with CAH, and characterize the manifestations to identify contributing factors to TART. METHODS: Among 102 CAH patients aged 0-30 years, 24 male patients have been regularly followed up in our outpatient clinic at Severance Children's Hospital from January 2000 to December 2014. In order to reveiw the characteristics of TART patients, we calculated the mean levels of hormones during the 5 years before the time of investigation. Five patients underwent follow-up scrotal ultrasonography (US) after adjusting the dosage of glucocorticoids. RESULTS: TARTs were detected in 8 of the 13 patients (61.5%). The median age of TARTs diagnosis was 20.2 years with the youngest case being 15.5 years old. The mean serum level of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) was higher in the TARTs patient group compared to the non-TARTs group (P<0.05). The tumor size decreased in 3 cases, slightly increased in 1 case, and had no change in another case. CONCLUSION: The serum ACTH level might be associated with the growth promoting factor for TARTs, but the exact mechanism has not been clearly identified. Screening for TARTs using US is important in male patients with CAH for early-detection and prevention of ongoing complications, such as infertility.

Surgical management of adrenal cysts: a single-institution experience

Objective To analyze surgical methods and evaluate treatment efficacy and safety for managing adrenal cystic lesions. Materials and methods All patients presenting with adrenal lesions of the West China Hospital were reviewed retrospectively from January 2003 to April 2013 and 47 were diagnosed as adrenal cysts. Basic information, clinical history, physical examination, laboratory investigations, abdominal ultrasound and enhanced computed tomography were detailed noted. Cysts with different surgical management were analyzed and surgery option operative time, postoperative complications and after-surgery hospital stay were all noted. The final diagnosis was judged by histopathology. Patients were followed from 3 month to 10 years. Results All the 47 patients with a mean age of 43.8 years were managed by surgical intervention. Compared laparoscopic technology with open technology, the laparoscopic has the advantage of a shorter operation time, shorter hospital stay after surgery and enhanced cosmesis. The histopathologic result was: 23 (50%) were endothelial cysts and 16 (35%) were pseudocysts. One patient had evidence to recurrence at the followed-up stage. Conclusion Adrenal cysts are rare and with the development of imaging techniques many of these are diagnosed incidentally. CT has advantages in detecting the cysts with haemorrhage, intracystic debris, calcification and mixed adrenal mass. Minimally invasive surgery offers equivalent efficacy to traditional open procedures, while providing a shorter operation time, shorter convalescence and improved cosmesis. Patients after surgical resection should be followed up closely especially if functional cysts and histopathology of cystic tumor are present. .

Testicular Adrenal Rest Tumor in 11-Beta-Hydroxylase Deficiency Driven Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Testicular adrenal rest tumors (TART) occur often as asymptomatic nodules in corticotropin-dependent lesions aberrant adrenal tissue in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) patients. The present manuscript is about an unusual case of a 16-year-old CAH patient due to 11beta-hydroxylase deficiency. He underwent testicle biopsy because of testicle tumor suspicion and diagnosed with TART.

Prevalence and characterization of testicular adrenal rest tumors in children and adolescent males with congenital adrenal hyperplasia / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective To summarize the prevalence,risk factors,and characteristics of testicular adrenal rest tumors(TART) in children and adolescent males with congenital adrenal hyperplasia(CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD).Methods During past 4 years,there were 44 males with CAH caused by 21-OHD undergone testicular ultrasound scan in our clinic.We have diagnosed 13 cases of TART and summarized the characterizations.Results The prevalence of TART in our group was 29.5％ with 11 cases of salt wasters and 2 cases of simple virilizers.The median age of TART diagnosis was 10.2 years.The median follow-up period of TART was 3.0 years.History of poor control of CAH was found in every case before diagnosis of TART.The doses of hydrocortisone were increased in 5 cases of TART who refused operations or had small TART,resulting in tumor regression in two of those five patients.Testis-sparing surgeries were performed in 8 patients with symptoms relieved; 7 of those eight patients presented elevated FSH and LH after operations.Conclusions Prevalence of TART in our CAH children and adolescent males was 29.5％.Testicular ultrasound was useful in TART screening.TART should be considered when a CAH patient with poor control,especially in post-pubertal one.Delayed management of TART may lead to impaired testicular function.Increased doses of glucocorticoid may be effective in TART of small size.Testis-sparing surgery should be also considered if necessary.

Testicular adrenal rest tumor in infertile man with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: case report and literature review / Tumor testicular de remanescente adrenal em homem infértil com hiperplasia adrenal congênita: relato de caso e revisão de literatura

CONTEXT: Synthesis of cortisol and aldosterone is impaired in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) because of 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Men with CAH have low fertility rates compared with the normal population, and this is related to testicular adrenal rest tumors. Findings of azoospermia in combination with a testicular tumor on ultrasound are likely to have a mechanical cause, especially when in the testicular mediastinum. The preferred treatment method consists of intensive corticoid therapy. However, when the tumor is unresponsive to steroid therapy, surgical treatment should be considered. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a male patient with CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency who presented a testicular tumor and azoospermia. Treatment with low daily corticoid doses had previously been started by an endocrinologist, but after 12 months, no significant change in sperm count was found. Although the adrenocorticotrophic hormone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels returned to normal values, the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels remained unchanged. Ultrasound examination confirmed that the testicles were small and heterogenous bilaterally, and revealed a mosaic area at the projection of the testis network bilaterally. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the finding. Testicular biopsy revealed the presence of preserved spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis in 20 percent of the seminiferous tubules in the right testicle. The patient underwent testis-sparing tumor resection. After 12 months of follow-up, there was no tumor recurrence but the patient still presented azoospermia and joined an intracytoplasmic sperm injection program.

CONTEXTO: Pacientes com hiperplasia adrenal congênita (HAC) por deficiência da 21-hidroxilase podem ter a síntese de cortisol e de aldosterona prejudicada. Homens com HAC têm baixas taxas de fertilidade em comparação com a população normal, e isso está relacionado a tumores testiculares de remanescente adrenal. A associação de azoospermia e tumor testicular sugere uma causa mecânica, principalmente quando o tumor é encontrado no mediastino testicular. O método preferencial de tratamento consiste na corticoterapia intensa. No entanto, quando o tumor não é responsivo à terapia com esteroides, o tratamento cirúrgico deve ser considerado. RELATO DE CASO: Apresentamos o caso de um paciente do sexo masculino com HAC por deficiência da 21-hidroxilase, portador de tumor testicular e azoospermia. Em consulta prévia com endocrinologista, o paciente começou tratamento com baixas doses diárias de corticoide, porém, após 12 meses de tratamento, não houve mudança significativa no espermograma. Embora os níveis de hormônio adrenocortitrófico e 17-hidroxiprogesterona tenham se normalizado, os níveis séricos de hormônio folículo-estimulante, hormônio luteinizante e testosterona não se alteraram. Exame ultrassonográfico confirmou testículos bilateralmente diminuídos e heterogêneos, além de área em mosaico na projeção da rede testis bilateralmente. Ressonância nuclear magnética confirmou o achado. Biópsia testicular revelou espermatogênese e espermiogênese preservadas em 20 por cento dos túbulos seminíferos no testículo direito. O paciente foi submetido a cirurgia poupadora testicular, com ressecção tumoral. Após 12 meses de acompanhamento, não houve recorrência tumoral, mas o paciente ainda apresentava azoospermia, sendo integrado no programa de injeção intracitoplasmática de espermatozoides.

Tumor testicular por restos suprarrenales en un adolescente con hiperplasia suprarrenal congénita clásica: revisión de su fiopatología e implicancias en fertilidad / Testicular adrenal rest tumors in a teenager with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia: report of one case

Testicular Adrenal Rest Tumors (TART) may play a role in fertility disturbances of patients with Classical Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH). We report a 17 years old male with classical CAH, diagnosed in the newborn period due to a salt wasting crisis with dehydration and severe hyponatremia. He was treated with cortisol and fludrocortisone with a low adherence to therapy. He had a precocious puberty and accelerated bone age, and was treated with a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) analog during two years. At the age of 14 years, bilateral testicular masses were detected during the physical examination. Testicular color Doppler ultrasound showed the presence of TART. A new ultrasound at 17 years of age showed the persistence of adrenal rests and an abnormal testicular growth.

A case of testicular adrenal rest tumor in a male child with congenital adrenal hyperplasia / 소아과

Testicular adrenal rest tumors are a well-known complication in male patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Corticosteroid suppressive therapy usually results in the regression of these tumors. We describe a patient with 21-hydroxylase deficiency who developed bilateral testicular masses. Despite steroid suppressive therapy, the tumors did not regress and hormonal control was poor. Consequently, bilateral partial orchiectomies were performed.

A Case of Congenital Adrenal Hyperlasia Misdiagnosed as Leydig Cell Tumor / 대한소아내분비학회지

We experienced a boy manifesting sexual precocity with unilateral testicular tumor, who was finally diagnosed as CAH with 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Initial laboratory findings were compatible with peripheral precocious puberty. Ultrasonogram for testes showed heterogenous high echoic mass in the right testicle. Radical orchiectomy was performed and its pathology revealed benign Leydig cell tumor without Reinke crystal. But, testosterone was not decreased after 1 month of surgery. Second laboratory exam revealed increased DHEA-S and 17-hydroxyprogesterone. Finally, this case was recognized as CAH(simple virilizing type) with unilateral testicular adrenal rest tumor. In conclusion, CAH should always be considered during etiologic study for the male sexulal precocity even with unilateral testicular tumor.