Ganglioneuroma presenting as an adrenal incidentaloma: a case report

Journal of Medical Case Reports

Tamer Aydin¹  Filiz Ozulker²  Gokhan Adas⁴  Bora Koc⁵  Mine Adas³ 

[1] Department of Pathology, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, 34200 Şişli, İstanbul, Turkey;Department of Nuclear Medicine, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, 34200 Şişli, İstanbul, Turkey;Department of Endocrinology, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, 34200 Şişli, İstanbul, Turkey;Department of Surgery, Bakırkoy Training and Research Hospital, 34700 Bakırkoy, İstanbul, Turkey;Department of Surgery, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, 34200 Şişli, İstanbul, Turkey

关键词: Incidentaloma;    Adrenal gland;    Adrenal ganglioneuroma;   

Others  :  822110
DOI  :  10.1186/1752-1947-8-131

 received in 2013-11-17, accepted in 2014-02-17,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Introduction

Ganglioneuromas are rare benign tumors arising from the neural crest tissue and are most commonly located in the posterior mediastinum and retroperitoneum; they are rarely found in the adrenal gland. This tumor is usually asymptomatic and in the majority of cases is detected incidentally. Although the characteristics of adrenal ganglioneuroma on computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have been well described, the exact diagnosis is difficult. Histopathological examination is currently the mainstay of diagnosis. Ganglioneuromas have a very good prognosis with surgical removal. We report the case of a male patient with an incidentally identified adrenal ganglioneuroma with high standardized uptake values in a positron emission tomography scan.

Case presentation

An 18-year-old Turkish male patient with no previous comorbidities was admitted to our hospital with lower-quadrant pain. He had no significant past medical or surgical history. A physical examination did not reveal any signs and the results of routine laboratory tests were all within the normal ranges. Our patient underwent computed tomography of his abdomen, which showed a relatively homogenous left adrenal tumor measuring 5.2×4.3×7.1cm. On a positron emission tomography scan, the left adrenal gland disclosed a standardized uptake value of 4.1. Our patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy with left adrenalectomy without any related complications.

Conclusion

Ganglioneuroma may sometimes be similar to other adrenal malignancies. Careful evaluation with endocrine tests and imaging procedures is necessary to provide an accurate diagnosis. Definitive diagnosis can be made by histological examination. The prognosis is very good with surgical removal.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Adas et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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