Prevalence of Mild Autonomous Cortisol Secretion in Adrenal Incidentalomas and the Significance of Subcentimeter Adrenal Nodules: A Single-Center Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES

Adrenal incidentalomas (AI) have been increasingly detected with the widespread use of cross-sectional imaging. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of AI and mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) in an Asian population.

METHODS

Health records of consecutive patients referred to medical and surgical endocrine clinics from June 2012 to May 2019 for AI at a tertiary institution were analyzed. All patients underwent hormonal evaluation.

RESULTS

A total of 340 patients were included (52.1% males; median age 63 year old). Median follow-up was 7.8 years. 301 patients (88.5%) had unilateral AI and the median nodule size was 1.5 cm. Among 116 patients (34.1%) with functional nodules, MACS was the most common hormonal abnormality (23.5%). Among 50 patients with AI <1 cm, 8 (16%) were functional. Female sex (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 3.03, P < .001), larger AI size (adjusted OR 1.25, P = .010), hypertension (adjusted OR 2.74, P = .003) and prediabetes (adjusted OR 3.11, P = .028) were independent factors associated with MACS. The 5-year mortality of patients with MACS was significantly higher than those with non-functional nodules (10% vs 4.0%, P = .046) and had poorer overall survival (P = .043). Only 16/80 (20%) patients with MACS underwent adrenalectomy, all performed laparoscopically without complications. Upon follow-up, none of the patients in the surgical group had new-onset hypertension, glucose intolerance, hyperlipidaemia, and osteoporosis.

CONCLUSIONS

MACS is the most common hormonal abnormality amongst AI. Hormonal evaluation should be considered for subcentimeter adrenal nodules. Minimally invasive surgery is a safe treatment for MACS which may reduce metabolic risks but seldom performed in this population.