Virilizing adrenocortical carcinoma advancing to central precocious puberty after surgery

Korean J Fam Med. 2015 May;36(3):150-3. doi: 10.4082/kjfm.2015.36.3.150. Epub 2015 May 22.

Abstract

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) in pediatric and adolescent patients is rare, and it is associated with various clinical symptoms. We introduce the case of an 8-year-old boy with ACC who presented with peripheral precocious puberty at his first visit. He displayed penis enlargement with pubic hair and facial acne. His serum adrenal androgen levels were elevated, and abdominal computed tomography revealed a right suprarenal mass. After complete surgical resection, the histological diagnosis was ACC. Two months after surgical removal of the mass, he subsequently developed central precocious puberty. He was treated with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist to delay further pubertal progression. In patients with functioning ACC and surgical removal, clinical follow-up and hormonal marker examination for the secondary effects of excessive hormone secretion may be a useful option at least every 2 or 3 months after surgery.

Keywords: Adrenocortical Carcinoma; Central Precocious Puberty; Virilism.