[EUROCRINE®: adrenal surgery 2015-2019- surprising initial results]

Serum hemoglobin and albumin levels serve as prognostic predictors after adrenal metastasectomy

PURPOSE

Adrenal metastasectomy is a common local treatment for adrenal metastases, with a lack of serum prognostic factors. Here, we identified the prognostic significance of preoperative hemoglobin and albumin levels in patients undergoing adrenal metastasectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data from 93 patients who underwent adrenal metastasectomy were assessed retrospectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the optimal cutoff values of hemoglobin and albumin for survival. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method, thereafter Cox regression models and subgroup analyses were applied to adjust confounding factors. A risk stratification developed by joint use of serum hemoglobin and albumin levels was also tested.

RESULTS

Optimal cut-off points were 130.5 g/L and 44.8 g/L for hemoglobin and albumin, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified decreased hemoglobin (HR [95% CI]: 0.41 [0.18-0.91], P = 0.029) and albumin (HR [95% CI]: 0.12 [0.02-0.88], P = 0.038) levels as independent factors for poorer OS. Patient with both decreased hemoglobin and albumin levels had the worst OS (P = 0.001) and DFS (P = 0.001) than other risk groups. Subgroup analyses proved decreased hemoglobin and albumin levels predicted poorer OS independent of cancer types.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative hemoglobin and albumin levels may serve as prognostic predictors after adrenal metastasectomy. A prognostic model that combines hemoglobin and albumin can improve accuracy in predicting patient outcomes and be easily implemented in clinical practice.

Survival and Prognostic Factors After Adrenalectomy for Secondary Malignancy: A Combined Analysis of a French University Center Registry (Eurocrine) of 307 Patients and a French Nationwide Study of 2515 Patients

OBJECTIVE

To provide a nationwide description of postoperative outcomes and analysis of prognostic factors following adrenalectomy for metastases.

BACKGROUND

Adrenal glands are a common site of metastases in many malignancies. Diagnosis of adrenal metastases is on the rise, leading to an increasing number of patient candidates for surgery without consensual management.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based study between January 2012 and December 2022 using the French National Health Data System (SNDS) and the Eurocrine registry (NCT03410394). The first database exhaustively covers all procedures carried out in France, while the second provides more clinical information on procedures and tumor characteristics, based on the experience of 11 specialized centers.

RESULTS

From the SNDS, we extracted 2515 patients who underwent adrenalectomy for secondary malignancy and 307 from the Eurocrine database. The most common primary malignancies were lung cancer (n=1203, 47.8%) and renal cancer (n=555, 22.1%). One-year survival was 84.3% (n=2120). Thirty-day mortality and morbidity rates were, respectively, 1.3% (n=32) and 29.9% (n=753, including planned intensive care unit - stays). Radiotherapy within the year before adrenalectomy was significantly associated with higher 30-day major complication rates ( P =0.039). In the Eurocrine database, the proportion of laparoscopic procedures reached 85.3% without impairing resection completeness (R0: 92.9%). Factors associated with poor overall survival were the presence of extra-adrenal metastases (hazard ratio =0.64; P =0.031) and incomplete resection (≥R1; hazard ratio=0.41; P =0.015).

CONCLUSIONS

The number of patients who can receive local treatment for adrenal metastases is rising, and adrenalectomy is more often minimally invasive and has a low morbidity rate. Subsequent research should evaluate which patients would benefit from adrenal surgery.

Outcomes after Surgical Treatment of Metastatic Disease in the Adrenal Gland; Valuable for the Patient?

Simple Summary

Adrenal glands are common dissemination sites for metastases of various solid tumors. The rapid development of new treatment strategies, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy for different cancer types, has led to increased metastatic adrenalectomies. Therefore, clear communication between oncologists and adrenal gland specialists has become increasingly important to outweigh surgical risks versus oncological advantages of adrenalectomies in these patients. This study assesses trends in diagnosis, type of surgery, and short-term and long-term surgical outcomes of patients who underwent metastatic adrenalectomy. We included a total of 95 patients with an adrenal metastasis of non-adrenal primary tumors, most often colorectal or lung cancer, who underwent (minimal invasive) adrenalectomy. 37.9% of the patients experienced one or more complications after adrenalectomy. Within our patient cohort, an increased demand for metastatic adrenalectomy was observed over the past years, which might be associated with the rise of targeted- and immunotherapy. Our data aims to assist multidisciplinary teams with weighing the pros and cons of resection of the metastasized adrenal gland of cancer patients.

Abstract

The adrenal glands are common dissemination sites for metastasis of various solid tumors. Surgical treatment is often recommended because targeted therapies and immunotherapy are frequently ineffective for adrenal metastasis. We report the experience with short-term and long-term surgical outcomes of patients undergoing surgery for adrenal metastasis in two hospitals. A retrospective, multicenter study was performed to analyze patient characteristics, tumor-related data, perioperative outcomes, and oncological outcomes. Postoperative complications that occurred within 30 days were scored according to the Clavien Dindo classification. Metastatic adrenalectomy was performed in 95 patients. We observed an increase from an average of 3 metastatic adrenalectomies per year between 2001–2005 to 10 between 2015–2019. The most frequent underlying malignancies were colorectal and lung cancer. In 55.8%, minimal invasive adrenalectomy was performed, including six conversions to open surgery. A total of 37.9% of patients had postoperative complications, of which ileus or gastroparesis, wound problems, pneumonia, and heart arrhythmias were the most occurring complications. Improved cancer care has led to an increased demand for metastatic adrenalectomy over the past years. Complication rates of 37.9% are significant and cannot be neglected. Therefore, multidisciplinary teams should weigh the decision to perform metastatic adrenalectomy for each patient individually, taking into account the drawbacks of the described morbidity versus the potential benefits.

[Endocrine and neuroendocrine tumors]

Endocrine tumors and here in particular gastrointestinal neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NET), pheochromocytomas (PC), paragangliomas (PGL) and thyroid tumors are prime examples of the importance of molecular pathology and molecular biology for the diagnostics, classification and ultimately also the (surgical) treatment of these diseases. The GEP-NETs are graded using the Ki-67 index. This determines the type of molecular imaging (DOTA/DOPA/FDG-PET/CT), the possible treatment (surgical and/or radiopeptide therapy), antiproliferative and symptom-controlling treatment with somatostatin analogues and ultimately also the prognosis. The PC/PGLs can be hereditary (MEN2A, VHL, NF1, SDH mutations), which significantly influences the surgical treatment and preoperative medication. Molecular imaging is very important and can lead the way in cases of borderline biochemistry. Adrenal carcinomas can also be genetically determined. In the case of thyroid tumors, the pathology of the C‑cell (C-cell hyperplasia, medullary thyroid carcinoma) should be emphasized. In the case of hereditary diseases (FMTC, MEN2), early prophylactic surgery is often necessary and prevents the occurrence of advanced carcinomas; however, the determination of the extent of resection in follicular lesions or the distinction between noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) and follicular variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma can also be determined with the help of specific markers. Overall, molecular pathology has an increasingly more important role in these entities and is also the topic of ongoing research projects.

Volume-outcome relationship for adrenalectomy: analysis of an administrative dataset for the Getting It Right First Time Programme

BACKGROUND

A minimum volume threshold of at least six procedures per annum per surgeon has been set in UK and European guidelines for adrenal surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate outcomes for adrenal surgery in England relative to annual surgeon and hospital trust volume.

METHODS

Data were extracted from the Hospital Episodes Statistics database for England. A 6-year period (January 2013 to December 2018 inclusive) for all adult admissions for unilateral adrenal surgery was used. The primary outcome measure was an emergency readmission within 30 days of discharge following surgery. Procedures were categorized as open or minimally invasive surgery for analysis. Multilevel modelling was used to adjust for hierarchy and potential confounders.

RESULTS

Data for 4189 adrenalectomies were identified. Only one third of surgeons (who operated on just over a half of all patients) performed at least six procedures in the year prior to the index procedure. For open surgery, emergency readmission rates fell significantly from 15.2 to 6.4 per cent for surgeons and from 13.2 to 6.1 per cent for trusts between the lowest- and highest-volume categories. Significant, but less dramatic falls were also seen for minimally invasive surgery.

CONCLUSION

A volume-outcome effect was identified for adrenal surgery in England. Minimum volume thresholds should be set, although these may need to be more ambitious than the current threshold if outcomes are to be optimized.