Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Ganglioneuromas (GN) 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. We report a case of a female patient with adrenal ganglioneuroma.

Observation: A 51-year-old female patient with no previous comorbidities was admitted to our hospital. She had no significant past medical or surgical history. She had symptoms of hot flush and palpitations since the age of 18. At the age of 34, the patient developed abdominal pain. A physical examination revealed no signs and the results of routine laboratory tests were all found to be within the normal ranges. Our patient underwent computed tomography of his abdomen, which showed a right adrenal tumor. An endocrine workup, including urine catecholamine and a 1mg overnight dexaméthasone suppression test, was normal. The lesion was completely extirpated through laparoscopic resection. The histopathological examination confirmed the lesion as adrenal ganglioneuroma, which contains mature ganglion cells admixed with schwann cells.

Discussion: Adrenal ganglioneuroma is an extremely rare and benign entity comprising schwann cells and ganglion cells. They usually occur in older children and young adults and are the most common sympathetic nervous system tumor in adults. Most GNs are located in the posterior mediastinum and retroperitoneum. TheGN occurs only rarely in the adrenal gland. The clinical presentation of the most patients with adrenal GN is asymptomatic, and most of these tumors are hormone silent as in the present case. Although GNs are generally considered to be non-secretory, some GNs are endocrinologically active. The prognosis for an adrenal GN following surgical resection is good without the need for additional treatment.