Bilateral Adrenal Incidentalomas: A Rare Presentation of Lung Cancer

Abstract EN

Adrenal incidentalomas are found incidentally during a radiologic examination performed for indications other than an adrenal disease, and 15% of them are bilateral adrenal masses.

This study describes a 51-year-old male smoker patient admitted with diabetes mellitus.

An abdominal ultrasonography performed due to his anemia revealed bilateral adrenal masses.

His chest X-ray showed abnormal 10 cm opacity at the right upper lung, and brain, thorax, and abdomen CT scans showed multiple lesions compatible with lung cancer metastases.

The pathological examination of the transthoracic lung biopsy specimen was consistent with lung adenocarcinoma.

Findings in this patient indicate that, in middle aged patients with bilateral adrenal mass and a history or finding of any malignancy, the first diagnosis which should be considered is adrenal metastasis, and confirming the diagnosis by adrenal biopsy may be useless.

Furthermore, screening all smoking patients by chest X-ray or thoracic CT for lung cancer may not be accepted as a routine procedure, but in smokers admitted to a hospital due to signs and symptoms attributed to a pulmonary disease, at least a chest X-ray should be requested.