Wang ZL, Sun X, Zhang FL, Wang T, Li P. Rare complication of acute adrenocortical dysfunction in adrenocortical carcinoma after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2021; 9(26): 7937-7943 [PMID: 34621849 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i26.7937]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ping Li, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Department of Chinese Integrative Medicine Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 120 Wanshui Road, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China. 1964Liping@sina.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Sep 16, 2021; 9(26): 7937-7943 Published online Sep 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i26.7937
Rare complication of acute adrenocortical dysfunction in adrenocortical carcinoma after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization: A case report
Zhi-Long Wang, Xin Sun, Feng-Li Zhang, Ting Wang, Ping Li
Zhi-Long Wang, Graduate School, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230038, Anhui Province, China
Xin Sun, Feng-Li Zhang, Ting Wang, Ping Li, Department of Chinese Integrative Medicine Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Li P helped to conceptualize the report; Sun X, Zhang FL, and Wang T contributed significantly to case studies, manuscript preparation, and discussion; Wang ZL conducted case analysis, manuscript preparation and discussion, and wrote the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report and the relevant images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no competing interests to report.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ping Li, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Department of Chinese Integrative Medicine Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 120 Wanshui Road, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China. 1964Liping@sina.com
Received: April 28, 2021 Peer-review started: April 28, 2021 First decision: May 23, 2021 Revised: May 26, 2021 Accepted: July 19, 2021 Article in press: July 19, 2021 Published online: September 16, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and highly invasive endocrine malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Although surgical resection is the main treatment for ACC, postoperative recurrence and metastasis have become the important factors of death. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is an important option for the treatment of advanced ACC with liver metastasis. However, due to the small number of patients treated for ACC, the safety of the operation is not completely clear and needs to be further studied.
CASE SUMMARY
A 47-year-old patient with ACC after surgery was admitted for reexamination by abdominal computerized tomography suggesting liver metastasis. Because the patient expressed reluctance to undergo surgery again, we treated her with TACE for the liver lesions. After treatment, symptoms of acute adrenal dysfunction such as decreased blood pressure, anorexia, and fatigue appeared, which were relieved after hydrocortisone treatment. To date, the patient's liver lesion is well controlled and no other metastases are observed.
CONCLUSION
We report a rare case of acute adrenal hypofunction after TACE. Glucocorticoid supplementation can alleviate the symptoms.
Core Tip: It is a very rare that adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) patients develop acute adrenal hypofunction after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Following current standards, glucocorticoid supplementation should be used to alleviate the symptoms and help the patients survive the high-risk period. More knowledge and reports on the postoperative complications of TACE can increase the safety of treatment. Here, we report the case of an ACC patient with acute adrenal hypofunction after TACE.
