Adrenal adenomas must be considered in the differential diagnosis of hyperandrogenic syndrome in women, as basal and dynamic hormonal tests cannot precisely differentiate ovarian from adrenal tumors.
Adrenal adenomas warrant consideration in hyperandrogenic differentials; case reports leave open reliable noninvasive differentiation from ovarian sources.
In Brief BACKGROUND The androgen source in women with hirsutism and signs of virilism may be the ovary or adrenal gland. CASES Three patients with androgen excess are reported. Two had hyperandrogenemia and Cushing syndrome with an adrenal mass greater than 5.5 cm; the third had a small adrenal adenoma secreting only testosterone and responsive to human chorionic gonadotropin. In all cases, the pathologic report from surgery and the long-term resolution of symptoms confirmed the benign nature of the tumors. CONCLUSION Basal and dynamic hormonal tests cannot precisely differentiate ovarian from adrenal tumors. Adrenal adenomas must be considered as a cause of hyperandrogenic syndrome. The possibility of adrenal adenomas must be considered in differential diagnosis as a cause of the hyperandrogenic syndrome.
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Danilowicz et al. (2002) studied this question.
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