Diagnosis and treatment of adrenocortlcal carcinoma.

Objective To study the methods of diagnosis and treatment of adrenocortical carcinoma-Methods 19 cases of adrenocoraical carcinoma(10 functional and 9 nonfunctional) were reviewed retrospectively. Results The functional carcinoma mainly showed cushing's syndrome. The nonfunctional had extra adrenal symptoms such as acute abdominal pain and hypertension. 15 cases received radical adrenolectomy,6 of which re-currenced 8 months to 10 years after the primary operation.The others received biopsy,3 of which didn't survive one year. Conclusions It is useful for diagnosis by the measurements of urine 17-ketosteroid, 17-hydros-tcroid. cortisol, aldosterone, CT scan, and B ultrasonography. Surgical removal of the tumor is the only effective treatment. Early diagnosis of adrenal cortical carcinoma is very difficult. It has a poor prognosis.