IMPORTANCE Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare but aggressive endocrine tumor, and the prognostic factors associated with long-term outcomes after surgical resection remain poorly defined. OBJECTIVES To define clinicopathological variables associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) after curative surgical resection of ACC and to propose nomograms for individual risk prediction. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Nomograms to predict RFS and OS after surgical resection of ACC were proposed using a multi-institutional cohort of patients who underwent curative-intent surgery for ACC at 13 major institutions in the United States between March 17, 1994, and December 22, 2014. The dates of our study analysis were April 15, 2015, to May 12, 2015. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The discriminative ability and calibration of the nomograms to predict RFS and OS were tested using C statistics, calibration plots, and Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS In total, 148 patients who underwent surgery for ACC were included in the study. The median patient age was 53 years, and 65.5% (97 of 148) of the patients were female. One-third of the patients (35.1% [52 of 148]) had a functional tumor, and the median tumor size was 11.2 cm. Most patients (77.7% [115 of 148]) underwent R0 resection, and 8.8% (13 of 148) of the patients had N1 disease. Using backward stepwise selection of clinically important variables with the Akaike information criterion, the following variables were incorporated in the prediction of RFS: tumor size of at least 12 cm (hazard ratio [HR], 3.00; 95% CI, 1.63–5.70; P < .001), positive nodal status (HR, 4.78; 95% CI, 1.47–15.50; P = .01), stage III/IV (HR, 1.80; 95% CI, 0.95–3.39; P = .07), cortisol-secreting tumor (HR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.27–4.48; P = .01), and capsular invasion (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.02–3.74; P = .04). Factors selected as predicting OS were tumor size of at least 12 cm (HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.00–3.17; P = .05), positive nodal status (HR, 5.89; 95% CI, 2.05–16.87; P = .001), and R1 margin (HR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.51–5.30; P = .001). The discriminative ability and calibration of the nomograms revealed good predictive ability as indicated by the C statistics (0.74 for RFS and 0.70 for OS). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Independent predictors of survival and recurrence risk after curative-intent surgery for ACC were selected to create nomograms predicting RFS and OS. The nomograms were able to stratify patients into prognostic groups and performed well on internal validation.

BACKGROUND Current treatment guidelines recommend adjuvant mitotane after resection of adrenocortical carcinoma with high-risk features (eg, tumor rupture, positive margins, positive lymph nodes, high grade, elevated mitotic index, and advanced stage). Limited data exist on the outcomes associated with these practice guidelines. STUDY DESIGN Patients who underwent resection of adrenocortical carcinoma from 1993 to 2014 at the 13 academic institutions of the US Adrenocortical Carcinoma Group were included. Factors associated with mitotane administration were determined. Primary end points were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS Of 207 patients, 88 (43%) received adjuvant mitotane. Receipt of mitotane was associated with hormonal secretion (58% vs 32%; p = 0.001), advanced TNM stage (stage IV: 42% vs 23%; p = 0.021), adjuvant chemotherapy (37% vs 5%; p < 0.001), and adjuvant radiation (17% vs 5%; p = 0.01), but was not associated with tumor rupture, margin status, or N-stage. Median follow-up was 44 months. Adjuvant mitotane was associated with decreased RFS (10.0 vs 27.9 months; p = 0.007) and OS (31.7 vs 58.9 months; p = 0.006). On multivariable analysis, mitotane was not independently associated with RFS or OS, and margin status, advanced TNM stage, and receipt of chemotherapy were associated with survival. After excluding all patients who received chemotherapy, adjuvant mitotane remained associated with decreased RFS and similar OS; multivariable analyses again showed no association with recurrence or survival. Stage-specific analyses in both cohorts revealed no association between adjuvant mitotane and improved RFS or OS. CONCLUSIONS When accounting for stage and adverse tumor and treatment-related factors, adjuvant mitotane after resection of adrenocortical carcinoma is not associated with improved RFS or OS. Current guidelines should be revisited and prospective trials are needed.

Background-The systemic inflammatory response may be associated with tumor progression. We sought to analyze the impact of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and plateletlymphocyte ratio (PLR) on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) among patients who underwent surgery for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC).

Background Lymph node metastasis is an established predictor of poor outcome for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC); however, routine lymphadenectomy during surgical resection of ACC is not widely performed and its therapeutic role remains unclear. Methods Patients undergoing margin-negative resection for localized ACC were identified from a multi-institutional database. Patients were stratified into 2 groups based on the surgeon’s effort or not to perform a lymphadenectomy as documented in the operative note. Clinical, pathologic, and outcome data were compared between the 2 groups. Results Of 120 patients who met inclusion criteria from 1993 to 2014, 32 (27 %) underwent lymphadenectomy. Factors associated with lymphadenectomy were tumor size (12 vs. 9.5 cm; p = .007), palpable mass at presentation (26 vs. 12 %; p = .07), suspicious lymph nodes on preoperative imaging (44 vs. 7 %; p < .001), and need for multivisceral resection (78 vs. 36 %; p <.001). Median number of lymph nodes harvested was higher in the lymphadenectomy group (5.5 vs. 0; p < .001). In-hospital mortality (0 vs. 1.3 %; p =.72) and grade 3/4 complication rates (0 vs. 12 %; p = .061) were not significantly different. Patients who underwent lymphadenectomy had improved overall survival (5-year 76 vs. 59 %; p = .041). The benefit of lymphadenectomy on overall survival persisted on multivariate analysis (HR = 0.17; p = .006) controlling for adverse preoperative and intraoperative factors associated with lymphadenectomy, such as tumor size, palpable mass, irregular tumor edges, suspicious nodes on imaging, and multivisceral resection. Conclusions In this multicenter study of adrenocortical carcinoma patients undergoing R0 resection, the surgeon’s effort to dissect peritumoral lymph nodes was independently associated with improved overall survival.

Background The influence of surgical margin status on long-term outcomes of patients undergoing adrenal resection for ACC remains not well defined. We studied the impact of surgical tumor margin status on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients undergoing resection for ACC. Methods A total of 165 patients who underwent adrenal resection for ACC and met inclusion criteria were identified form a multi-institutional database. Clinicopathological data, pathologic margin status, and long-term outcomes were assessed. Patients were stratified into two groups based on margin status: R0 (margin >1 mm) versus R1. Results R0 resection was achieved in 126 patients (76.4 %), whereas 39 patients (23.6 %) had an R1 resection. Median and 5-year OS for patients undergoing R0 resection were 96.3 months and 64.8 % versus 25.1 months and 33.8 % for patients undergoing an R1 resection (both p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, surgical margin status was an independent predictor of worse OS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.22, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.03–4.77; p = 0.04). The incidence of recurrence also differed between the two groups; 5-year RFS was 30.3 % among patients with an R0 resection versus 13.8 % among patients who had an R1 resection (p = 0.03). Lymph node metastasis (N1) was an independent predictor of RFS (HR 2.70, 95 % CI 1.04–6.99; p = 0.04). Conclusions A positive margin after ACC resection was associated with worse long-term survival. Patient selection and an emphasis on surgical technique to achieve R0 margins are pivotal to optimizing the best chance for long-term outcome among patients with ACC.