Hepatic metastasis from adrenocortical carcinoma fifteen years after primary resection

Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2012 Mar-Apr;18(2):140-2. doi: 10.4103/1319-3767.93821.

Abstract

We report the case of a 73-year-old man who presented with an asymptomatic hepatic mass during investigation of mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by a plain chest radiograph, followed by ultrasonography, which revealed a solitary hepatic lesion measuring 7.1 cm × 6.5 cm × 5.8 cm in dimension. Fine- needle aspiration of the mass revealed malignant cells compatible with hepatocellular carcinoma. Interestingly, the patient had a left adrenalectomy and complete left nephrectomy in 1987, for a non-functioning left adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). The ACC was diagnosed as stage two, with no evidence of local invasion or distant metastases. No adjuvant therapy was recommended postoperatively. After a five-year follow-up, there was no evidence of ACC recurrence and the patient was declared cured from his ACC. The patient underwent a complete segmental resection of the right lobe of the liver successfully. The final diagnosis of the mass was a well-differentiated metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / surgery
  • Adrenalectomy
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma / diagnostic imaging
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma / epidemiology
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma / secondary*
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma / surgery
  • Aged
  • Biopsy, Fine-Needle
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / pathology
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Liver Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Liver Neoplasms / pathology
  • Liver Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Liver Neoplasms / surgery
  • Male
  • Nephrectomy
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / epidemiology
  • Time Factors
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed