Adrenocortical Adenoma: A report of 7 Cases

ABSTRACT

Primary tumors of the adrenal cortex are comparatively rare. In the medical literature they are most frequently reported as single case. Because of their infrequent occurence some features of their clinical behavior and pathologic anatomy are not widely known. For this reason the recording of the 7 cases from the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Chungnam National University is thought to be worth while. Of the seven tumors, five were associated with primary aldosteronism, one Cushing's syndrome, and the remaing one virilizing syndrome. All were benign. Females were affected more frequently than males. Adrenocortical adenomas tend to be small, weighing less than 42 gm. The tumors associated with primary aldosteronism were composed of zona fasciculata-like cells and "hybrid" cells. The tumor with Cushing's syndrome consisted of zona reticularis-like cells. The tumor with virilizing syndrome consisted of zone reticularis-like cells.