Pure Androgen-Secreting Radiologically Suspicious Adrenal Mass: Benign or Malignant?

Chaitra Gopinath; Suman Shekar; Madan Acharya; Vishwanath Pattan; Vishnu Sundaresh

doi:10.7759/cureus.26234

Pure Androgen-Secreting Radiologically Suspicious Adrenal Mass: Benign or Malignant?

Cureus. 2022 Jun 23;14(6):e26234. doi: 10.7759/cureus.26234. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Authors

Chaitra Gopinath¹, Suman Shekar², Madan Acharya³, Vishwanath Pattan⁴, Vishnu Sundaresh⁵

Affiliations

¹ Diabetes and Endocrinology, Kansas City University, Kansas City, USA.
² Medical Center Primary Care, University of Kentucky Bowling Green Campus, Bowling Green, USA.
³ Cardiology, Unity Point Health, Des Moines, USA.
⁴ Diabetes and Endocrinology, Upstate University Hospital, Syracuse, USA.
⁵ Division of Endocrinology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, USA.

Abstract

Pure androgen-secreting adrenocortical tumors (PASATs) are rare entities. Their clinical presentations include virilizing features that vary based on age and gender. The pathogenesis of this tumor is still unclear, with around 50% of such tumors being malignant. Imaging characteristics of the tumor on CT/MRI including size, heterogenicity, and contrast wash-out time are used to predict malignancy. Surgical excision is recommended for all functional adrenal tumors. In this report, we discuss a case of a 68-year-old postmenopausal female presenting with hyperandrogenism and was found to have a 7-cm, PASAT that raised suspicion for malignancy on CT scan, but was determined to be benign on surgical pathology.

Keywords: adrenal mass; adrenocortical tumors; dhea-s; hyperandrogenism; testosterone.

Publication types

Case Reports