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Is Surgery Advisable For Masses In Lung And Adrenal Glands?
Hi there, This question is actually about my boyfriend s father who is awaiting biopsy results. He s 59, healthy, very active, hasn t smoked for years, and weighs around 160 pounds with no recent weight loss. He has three masses in his right lung, the largest of which has a long diameter measurement of 4.4 cm. The scan also indicated potential masses in his right and left adrenal glands (larger in the right, no note of size). Assuming best case scenario where the metastatic event is localized solely to the adrenals, would surgery be recommended (possible right pneumonectomy and laproscopic adrenal surgery)? I ve read several case studies of apparently similar patent profiles in which this non-conventional approach was taken and they yielded positive outcomes (in relative terms, at least), but haven t found any articles dated within the past several months. I know I m jumping the gun a bit since the diagnosis hasn t been received yet, but I d like to get a sense of the current standard of care for this scenario. Thanks very much! -Amy
Mon, 1 Jun 2020
Hello,
I must say it is important to get a biopsy done of the lung lesion to know the type and character of the lesion.
It is common to have adrenal masses at this age and they need not be cancer always. Majority of these lesions are often benign. However in this case, co existence of lung masses points towards possible metastasis.
As there are adrenal masses, It is important to do few hormone tests before we consider any surgery to rule out hormone secreting adrenal masses. He also will need an adrenal specific CT scan ( Adrenal protocol CT) to differentiate between benign vs malignant adrenal lesion.
If benign appearing in the CT protocol and if they are not secreting any hormones, we can consider an elective adrenal surgery later as the mass is > 4 cm. If malignant or secreting hormone, it will need surgery irrespective of the size.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr. Binu Parameswaran Pillai
I must say it is important to get a biopsy done of the lung lesion to know the type and character of the lesion.
It is common to have adrenal masses at this age and they need not be cancer always. Majority of these lesions are often benign. However in this case, co existence of lung masses points towards possible metastasis.
As there are adrenal masses, It is important to do few hormone tests before we consider any surgery to rule out hormone secreting adrenal masses. He also will need an adrenal specific CT scan ( Adrenal protocol CT) to differentiate between benign vs malignant adrenal lesion.
If benign appearing in the CT protocol and if they are not secreting any hormones, we can consider an elective adrenal surgery later as the mass is > 4 cm. If malignant or secreting hormone, it will need surgery irrespective of the size.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr. Binu Parameswaran Pillai
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