Adrenal incidentaloma or epinephroma and review of the literature. Differential diagnosis of adrenal incidentaloma

Abstract

Objective: A thorough review of the literature concerning Adrenal Incidentalomas (AI) was conducted.

Results: We started with the definition and the history of the term Adrenal Incidentaloma. We introduce a new term, the term Epinephroma. We described the epidemiological characteristics of Adrenal Incidentalomas. We cited and commented the characteristics and pitfalls of various radiological modalities. We went on citing the various arguments in literature about the size of the tumour, the natural history, the biochemical characteristics and the treatment of Adrenal Incidentalomas.

Conclusion: advances in modern medical technologies has offered us an armamentarioum of new diagnostic modalities which has improved a lot our differential diagnostic abilities concerning an incidental adrenal tumour. However, despite the advances, still a lot of challenges exist.