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Submitted on December 7, 2004
Accepted on February 23, 2005
Section on Genetics & Endocrinology, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, and Inter-Institute Endocrinology Training Program, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); Surgical Urology Branch; Section on Electron Microscopy, Laboratory of Pathology, and Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: stratakc{at}mail.nih.gov.
Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in the fumarate hydratase (FH) gene on chromosome 1q42.3-43. Massive macronodular adrenocortical disease (MMAD) is a heterogeneous condition associated with Cushing syndrome (CS) and bilateral hyperplasia of the adrenal glands. In MMAD, cortisol secretion is often mediated by ectopic, adrenocortical expression of receptors for a variety of substances; however, to date, no consistent genetic defects have been identified. In a patient with HLRCC caused by a germline inactivating FH mutation, we diagnosed atypical (sub-clinical) CS due to bilateral, ACTH-independent adrenocortical hyperplasia. A clinical protocol for the detection of ectopic expression of various hormone receptors was employed. Histology was consistent with MMAD. The tumor tissue harbored the germline FH mutation and demonstrated allelic losses of the 1q42.3-43 FH locus. We then searched the National Institutes of Health (NIH) databases of patients with MMAD or HLRCC and found at least 3 other cases with MMAD that had a history of tumors that could be part of HLRCC; among patients with HLRCC, there were several with some adrenal nodularity noted on computed tomography but none with imaging findings consistent with MMAD. From 2 of the 3 MMAD patients, adrenocortical tumor DNA was available and sequenced for coding FH mutations; there were none. We conclude that in a patient with HLRCC, adrenal hyperplasia and CS were due to MMAD. The latter was likely due to the FH gemline mutation because in tumor cells only the mutant allele was retained. However, other patients with MMAD and HLRCC, or HLRCC patients with adrenal imaging findings consistent with MMAD, or MMAD patients with somatic FH mutations, were not found among the NIH series. Although a fortuitous association cannot be excluded, HLRCC may be added to the short list of monogenic disorders that have been reported to be associated with the development of adrenal tumors; FH may be considered a candidate gene for MMAD.
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