Abstract
The widespread use of imaging examinations has increased the detection of incidental adrenal lesions, which are mostly benign and non-functioning adenomas. The differentiation of a benign from a malignant adrenal mass can be crucial especially in oncology patients since it would greatly affect treatment and prognosis. In this setting, imaging plays a key role in the detection and characterization of adrenal lesions, with several imaging tools which can be employed by radiologists. A thorough knowledge of the imaging features of adrenal masses is essential to better characterize these lesions, avoiding a misinterpretation of imaging findings, which frequently overlap between benign and malignant conditions, thus helping clinicians and surgeons in the management of patients. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main imaging features of adrenal masses and tumor-like conditions recalling the strengths and weaknesses of imaging modalities commonly used in adrenal imaging.
Highlights
The adrenal gland is a site of several pathologic conditions, including hyperplasia, hemorrhage, and malignant and benign masses
Tumors can be hyperfunctioning, when producing an increased amount of hormones leading to endocrine disorders, or non-hyperfunctioning, which are characterized by normal hormone levels
A retrospective study conducted by Kim JY et al on 325 patients evaluated a combination of morpho-functional parameters using positron emission tomography (PET)/CT demonstrating that unenhanced attenuation of > 10 HU at CT imaging and a SUVmax ratio of > 2.5 in PET were significantly associated with adrenal metastases [84]
Summary
Domenico Albano1* , Francesco Agnello, Federico Midiri, Giusy Pecoraro, Alberto Bruno, Pierpaolo Alongi, Patrizia Toia, Giuseppe Di Buono, Antonino Agrusa, Luca Maria Sconfienza, Salvatore Pardo, Ludovico La Grutta, Massimo Midiri and Massimo Galia
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