ECE2008 Poster Presentations Endocrine tumours (77 abstracts)
Deficits in the clinical management of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma in Germany
Sarah Johanssen 1 , Ann-Cathrin Koschker 1 , Stefanie Hahner 1 , Marcus Quinkler 2 , Wolfgang Saeger 3 , Michael Morcos 4 , Holger Willenberg 5 , Peter Langer 6 , Silke Klose 7 , Nicole Reisch 8 , Felix Beuschlein 8 , Michael Brauckhoff 9 , Christian Fottner 10 , Sebastian Wortmann 1 , Wolfgang Oelkers 12 , Uwe Maeder 11 , Martin Fassnacht 1 & Bruno Allolio 1
1University Hospital, Wuerzburg, Germany; 2University Hospital, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; 3Institute of Pathology, Marienkrankenhaus, Hamburg, Germany; 4University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; 5University Hospital, Düsseldorf, Germany; 6University Hospital, Marburg, Germany; 7University Hospital, Magdeburg, Germany; 8University Hospital Innenstadt, München, Germany; 9University Hospital, Halle, Germany; 10University Hospital, Mainz, Germany; 11Tumour Centre, University Hospital, Würzburg, Germany; 12University Hospital, Charité Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare disease with poor prognosis. Accordingly, in many cases, the attending doctors have no previous experience with the disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate the quality of care in a large number of patients with ACC in Germany. Data from 263 adult patients of the German ACC registry were analyzed with regard to the following parameters: time to diagnosis, hormonal assessment, imaging, histopathological documentation, follow-up. The time from first symptoms to diagnosis varied widely, e.g. in patients with Cushing’s syndrome from several weeks to 36 months (median 8.5 months). Preoperative diagnostic work up was frequently insufficient: In the majority of patients no (16%) or only incomplete (46%) hormonal investigations were performed, putting the patient at unnecessary risk and impairing future follow-up. Furthermore, in 47% no thoracic CT was performed. Histopathological assessment by the respective local pathologists proved frequently not reliable: during the last two years, the diagnosis of ACC was revised by the reference pathologist of the registry in 7 cases. In addition, resection status was not given in the histopathological report in 15.4% of patients, although this information is of key importance for treatment and prognosis. We detected deficits also in follow-up: due to the high rate of recurrence in ACC, regular restaging every 3 months is recommended. However, in a third of patients a first postoperative follow-up was performed only after more than 6 months. In conclusion, we have identified significant deficits in the care of patients with ACC in Germany. Based on recommendations of the European adrenal network ENSAT only 33% of the patients underwent sufficient hormonal assessment, staging, and postoperative follow-up. Close and early interaction of physicians with specialized centres will be of key importance to improve the care of patients with this rare disease.
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Endocrine Abstracts
ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)
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