OR29-2 Mild Autonomous Cortisol Excess (MACE) in Adrenal Incidentalomas - Metabolic Risk Profile and Urinary Steroid Metabolome Analysis in 1208 Prospectively Recruited Patients
Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Adrenal incidentalomas (AI) are frequently associated with mild autonomous cortisol excess (MACE). The 1mg-dexamethasone suppression test (1mg-DST) differentiates MACE into MACE-1 (possible MACE; post-Dex cortisol 50-138 nmol/L) and MACE-2 (definitive MACE; post-Dex cortisol >138 nmol/L). MACE patients do not show clinically overt signs of hypercortisolism but are thought to carry a higher metabolic risk than nonfunctioning (NF) AIs. However, large-scale data about the metabolic impact of MACE are lacking. METHODS: We included 1208 patients with benign AIs and 1mg-DST results prospectively recruited as part of the ENSAT EURINE-ACT study. Clinical information and 24-h urines were available for all patients. Results of mass spectrometry-based urinary steroid profiling were compared to 162 healthy controls and 56 patients with overt adrenal Cushing’s syndrome (CUSH), using a sex- and age-adjusted linear regression model. RESULTS: MACE was found in 48% of adrenal incidentaloma patients (MACE-1 37%, MACE-2 11%), predominantly affecting women (NF 64%, MACE-1 67%, MACE-2 77%). MACE patients were significantly older than those with NF (p<0.001). MACE AIs were larger (median 32mm vs. 22mm in NF) and more often bilateral (31% vs. 17% in NF). The presence and grade of MACE were significantly linked to metabolic risk as assessed by prevalence of hypertension (NF 64%, MACE-1 75%, MACE-2 78%), type 2 diabetes (NF 20%, MACE-1 27%, MACE-2 30%), use of lipid-lowering medications (NF 40%, MACE-1 54%, MACE-2 52%), and osteopenia/osteoporosis (NF 37%, MACE-1 50%, MACE-2 56%) (all p<0.01 by Fisher’s exact test). Patients with MACE and type 2 diabetes more frequently required insulin treatment (31% vs. 15% in NF; p<0.01), and those with hypertension more often needed ≥3 medications (42% vs. 35% in NF; p<0.01). Urinary steroid metabolome analysis of MACE urines revealed a profile characterized by decreased androgen metabolites and increased glucocorticoid metabolites, resembling the profile of CUSH patients, with the latter also showing significantly increased mineralocorticoid precursor excretion (corticosterone and 11- deoxycorticosterone metabolites) (all p<0.001 vs. controls). CONCLUSIONS: MACE is highly prevalent in AIs and associated with an increased burden of metabolic co-morbidities. In addition, the similarities between the MACE and CUSH steroid metabolomes suggests that MACE is both a highly relevant clinical and biochemical entity.
Source: Journal of the Endocrine Society
Authors: Alessandro Prete, Angela Taylor, Sitch Alice, Lorna Gilligan, Dimitra Vassiliadi, Urszula Ambroziak, Katharina Lang, Darko Kastelan, Antoine Tabarin, Michael Dennedy, Grethe Ueland, Marcus Quinkler, Jimmy Masjkur, Martin Fassnacht, Miomira Ivovic, Massimo Terzolo, Felix Beuschlein, Konstantinos Manolopoulos, Michael O'Reilly, Stylianos Tsagarakis, Cedric Shackleton, Jonathan Deeks, Irina Bancos, Wiebke Arlt
Institutions: University of Birmingham, Evangelismos Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, University Hospital Galway, Haukeland University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, University of Würzburg, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, University of Belgrade, University of Turin, University Hospital Zurich, Mayo Clinic
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,255
OpenAlex ID: W2944377507