Results of bilateral adrenalectomy in the management of incurable breast cancer.Report of 155 cases

ILATERAL adrenalectomy is an important B recent addition to the methods available for palliation of incurable symptomatic breast cancer.From January, 1951, through June, 1957, 155 breast cancer patients who were subsequently subjected to adrenalectomy, alone or in combination with oophorectomy, were seen by the Breast Service of Memorial Center.The purposes of this paper are to report the results observed and, by analysis of the data, to clarify further the indications and contraindications for adrenalectomy. REVIEW OF LITERATURESince the initial report of Huggins and Bergenstala that the growth of certain mammary carcinomas was inhibited after bilateral adrenalectomy alone or bilateral adrenalectomy in combination with oophorectomy, there have been numerous publications on the effectiveness of these procedures.The various authors have agreed in emphasizing the temporary nature of objective improvement, but reports on the frequency, degree, and duration of beneficial effects have varied considerably.It is clear that no standard criteria either for the preoperative selection of patients or for the postoperative assessment of results at uniform time intervals have been followed.In summarizing the literature, it is difficult to include all reports.The merits and hazards of collective data derived from single case reports or small series at the beginning of a clinical investigation are fully recognized.With the accumulation of clinical data over longer periods, there seems to be little advantage in including all of these reports.For this reason only 9 reports are detailed in ~