A Primary Adrenal Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Presenting as an Incidental Adrenal Mass
April 2006
in “
Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes
”
TLDR A woman's small, unnoticed adrenal mass turned out to be a rare non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, treated successfully with surgery and therapy.
The document reported on a 70-year-old woman with a primary adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) that was initially found as an incidental 16 mm adrenal mass during an ultrasound for cardiovascular disease. Despite no initial signs of malignancy, the mass grew to 40 mm in 8 months, leading to a unilateral adrenalectomy, which revealed a primary diffuse large B-cell NHL. After surgery, the patient received polychemotherapy and radiotherapy and was disease-free four years later. The case underlined the rarity of primary adrenal NHL, with about 70 cases reported, and the necessity for vigilant follow-up of incidental adrenal masses due to the potential for malignancy. The document emphasized the importance of hormonal and radiological monitoring for small adrenal incidentalomas to detect malignancies early.
