THU604 Characterization Of Adrenal Masses In Young Adults At A Tertiary Academic Medical Center
Authors: Jacob Sarah A , Itani Malak , Hoegger Mark J , Ludwig Daniel , Pandian T K , Brown Taylor C , Michael Brunt L , Bancos Irina , Genere Natalia 
Published: October 2023

Disclosure: S.A. Jacob: None. M. Itani: None. M.J. Hoegger: None. D. Ludwig: None. T. Pandian: None. T.C. Brown: None. L.M. Brunt: None. I. Bancos: None. N. Genere: None.

Introduction: Adrenal mass incidence has increased tenfold over the last two decades, with most masses detected in individuals over 40 years of age. The majority of these adrenal masses are benign (&gt;80%), and few are malignant (8%) or hormonally active (4%); most are incidentally detected. Studies suggest higher rates of hormonally active and malignant adrenal masses in younger patients, however, evidence for this age group is scarce. In two recent large cohort studies of adrenal masses, young adults (18-40 years) represented only 0.2-7.1% of individuals studied. This study aimed to characterize clinical, imaging, and biochemical presentation of young adults diagnosed with adrenal masses.  Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of young adults (18-40 years) with adrenal masses detected based on a radiology report text database search between January 2015 and December 2021 at a tertiary medical center. Exclusion criteria included pre-existing adrenal masses before 2015, hyperplasia, or masses &lt;1cm. Images were reviewed by abdominal radiologists, and clinical data were obtained through review of electronic medical records. Results: A total of 255 young adults (56% women, 61% white) were diagnosed with adrenal masses with median age 35 (IQR 30-39) years. Genetic predisposition syndrome was present in 6%. Comorbidities included: BMI &gt;30 kg/m2 in 48%, hypertension in 35%, and diabetes in 10%. Adrenal masses were detected incidentally in 72% and during cancer staging in 16%. Median mass size was 1.9cm (IQR 1.4-2.7cm) and 49% (39/79) were lipid poor (Hounsfield units &gt;10). Only 22% of patients underwent hormonal evaluation. Final diagnoses included 16% malignancy, 9% benign adenoma with overt hormone excess, 40% benign adenoma with incomplete hormonal evaluation and 24% radiographically indeterminate masses. Subgroup analysis showed that adrenal masses in those &lt;30 years old compared to 31-40 year-olds were more frequently associated with tumor predisposition syndrome (15% vs 3%, p&lt;0.01) and more often lipid poor (76% vs 40%, p&lt;0.01); but, no differences in frequency of malignancy or overt hormone excess were identified. Discussion:  We found a higher frequency of malignancy and overt hormonal excess in our cohort of young adults compared to previously published studies, though direct comparisons are limited by differences in methodology. These findings, in addition to high frequencies of metabolic disease in our cohort, would suggest the need for hormonal assessment in young adults; yet, this was completed in only a minority of patients. Additional areas of research may include studying hormonal status of adrenal masses in young adults in a multi-center cohort to overcome issues of selection bias and increase the rates of those with complete hormonal evaluation.

Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023