Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Steroid levels in non-hormone producing adrenal tumors in dogs
By van Bokhorst, Kirsten L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2026·Department of Clinical Sciences, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid production in hormonally silent adrenocortical tumor tissue in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 dogs with hormonally silent adrenal tumors (SATs) were studied to understand their hormone production. These tumors were found during imaging but did not show signs of hormone overproduction in standard tests. The research showed that these SATs had higher levels of certain hormones compared to healthy adrenal tissues, suggesting they might not be completely silent. This finding indicates that some SATs could still produce hormones, which could change how veterinarians diagnose and treat these tumors in the future.
People also search for: dog adrenal tumor symptoms · silent adrenal tumor in dogs · treatment for dog adrenal tumors
Abstract
BACKGROUND: No consensus exists regarding the monitoring and therapeutic approach to adrenal tumors (ATs) discovered incidentally by diagnostic imaging, when standard endocrine testing yields negative results. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To evaluate tissue concentrations of adrenocortical steroids in hormonally silent adrenocortical tumors (SATs) in dogs. ANIMALS: Fourteen dogs with SATs (12 unilateral, 2 bilateral), 11 dogs with cortisol-secreting adrenocortical tumors (cs-ACTs) and 10 healthy dogs. METHODS: Observational study. Diagnosis of SAT was based on finding an AT on diagnostic imaging, negative endocrine function tests, and histopathological and immunohistochemical confirmation. Adrenocortical steroid tissue concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and compared between SATs, cs-ACTs, and normal adrenals (NAs). RESULTS: Hormonally silent adrenocortical tumors exhibited higher median tissue cortisol (3.62 ng/mg, range 0.05-18.1) and 21-deoxycortisol (0.08 ng/mg, range 0.00-0.44) concentrations than NAs (cortisol 0.38 ng/mg, range 0.01-1.90; 21-deoxycortisol 0.01 ng/mg, range 0.00-0.03; P = .04 and P = .001, respectively), and these concentrations were not significantly different between SATs and cs-ACTs. Furthermore, SATs' median tissue concentrations of mineralocorticoid precursors corticosterone (2.15 ng/mg, range 0.01-14.1) and 18-OH-corticosterone (0.70 ng/mg, range 0.00-4.89) were higher than in NAs (respectively 0.19 ng/mg [range 0.14-0.54] and 0.05 ng/mg [range 0.01-0.33]; both P = .01) and not different when compared to cs-ACTs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: This study on tissue metabolomics in ATs in dogs demonstrates comparable tissue concentrations of specific glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids in SATs and cs-ACTs. This implies that some SATs are not hormonally silent, prompting further studies on diagnostics, treatment, and monitoring recommendations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41742553/