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A Testosterone-Producing Adrenal Cortical Adenoma in an Elderly Woman

Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation La Jolla, California 92037 The Departments of Reproductive Medicine and Urology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037

Reprints: W. P. VanderLaan, M.D., Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, 476 Prospect Street, La Jolla, California 92037.

A 76-year-old woman with virilization had menopausal levels of circulating LH and FSH, and a markedly elevated concentration of plasma testosterone (9130 pg/ml) into the range for adult men. Plasma cortisol and androstenedione levels and urinary 17-ketosteroid secretion were normal. Ethinyl estradiol suppressed plasma testosterone, LH, and FSH levels into the normal range for premenopausal women, but the testosterone concentration was unaffected by the administration of dexamethasone or ACTH. Retrograde venous sampling and angiography localized a right adrenal adenoma preoperatively. Following adrenalectomy, there was a prompt fall in testosterone, but there was no change in the LH concentration. Thus, this patient had an adrenal adenoma which secreted only testosterone and appeared to be gonadotropinresponsive. Testosterone levels in the adult male range failed to suppress gonadotropins. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Supported by grants from the Kroc Foundation, Santa Ynez, California 93460 and from the Rockefeller Foundation (RF-70029).

¹ Present address: The Center for Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

Received March 10, 1975.

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