Adrenocortical Carcinoma With Renal Vein Thrombus Extended to Inferior Vena Cava: A Case Report

Int Surg. 2015 Jul;100(7-8):1190-3. doi: 10.9738/INTSURG-D-14-00224.1.

Abstract

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare aggressive tumor. Renal vein and inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombi have been found as uncommon presentations of ACC; however, the implementation of comprehensive therapy has remained controversial in such cases. We report a case of a 46-year-old woman with a large ACC associated with the invasion of tumor to IVC confirmed by imaging and immunohistochemistry examinations. The patient was treated successfully using aggressive surgery, including adrenalectomy and thrombectomy adjunct to an adrenocorticolytic agent. However, she died of metastasis complications at 3-month follow-up period. ACC is a rare malignancy, mostly presenting in advanced stages with poor prognosis. Implementing aggressive surgical therapy might be effective for the management of such cases; however, the short survival duration in our case underscores the need for defining the precise therapy of metastatic ACC associated with venous invasion.

Keywords: Adrenalectomy; Adrenocortical carcinoma; Distant metastasis; Inferior vena cava thrombus.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Adrenalectomy
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma / diagnostic imaging
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma / secondary
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma / surgery*
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Liver Neoplasms / secondary
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Middle Aged
  • Nephrectomy
  • Renal Veins / pathology*
  • Thrombosis / etiology*
  • Ultrasonography
  • Vena Cava, Inferior / pathology*