Endocrine Abstracts

An adrenal incidentaloma is a mass in the adrenal gland that is found on imaging that has been performed for reasons other than imaging the adrenal. With the increased use of axial imaging increasing numbers of lesions are found that require assessment. Adrenal incidentaloma are found in 4.5% of abdominal and thoracic CT scans. The incidence increases with age, being found in <1% of scans in those aged <20 y but in around 10% at 70 y. These adrenal masses are encountered by all medical and surgical specialities during radiological investigation. Large retrospective series reveal that the vast majority of adrenal incidentaloma are benign adrenal cortical adenoma, but a wide range of other diagnoses are possible depending on whether there is unilateral or bilateral disease. The two key questions that need to be addressed when assessing an adrenal incidentaloma are: 1) is it benign or malignant? 2) is it functional? These key questions are best addressed by discussion in dedicated adrenal multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings attended by specialists expert in assessment of adrenal disease including: adrenal radiologist, adrenal endocrinologist, endocrine / adrenal surgeon, oncologist, clinical chemist, and endocrine nurse specialist. This MTP session will focus on case-based analyses and examples of how to approach this common clinical problem with extensive reference to the European guidelines.