[Adrenal metastasis: survival following surgical resection]

Abstract

Goal: This study aims to determine the post-surgical survival after resection of adrenal metastasis from extra-adrenal primary cancers.

Patients and methods: A retrospective study of sixteen patients undergoing surgery for adrenal metastasis between 1995 and 2005 analyzed age, type of primary cancer, interval to detection of adrenal metastasis, type of surgery performed, and survival (Kaplan-Meier curve).

Results: The study included 10 men and 6 women with a mean age of 55.5 years (25-74). Adrenal metastasis causes no clinical signs or symptoms. Diagnosis was made on the basis of CT scan in 12 cases and PET scan in 4 cases. The primary cancer site was lung (6), kidney (3), melanoma (2), colorectum (2), esophagus (1), pancreas (1), and B-cell lymphoma (1). Metastasis was confined to the adrenal in 7 cases and associated with other-site metastasis in 9. The interval from diagnosis of the primary cancer to detection of the adrenal metastasis ranged from 9 months to 11 years. Surgery consisted of radical resection in 5 cases, metastasectomy in 10 cases, and biopsy in one case. The overall survival was 12 months (range 2-120 months); when the diagnosis of the metastasis was synchronous with that of the primary, survival was just 8 months.

Conclusion: The survival after surgery for adrenal metastasis is poor; it is even more dismal when the metastasis is diagnosed synchronously with the primary tumor. Surgical management depends on the primary neoplasm and the extent of metastases.