Adrenalectomy for incidental and symptomatic phaeochromocytoma: retrospective multicentre study based on the Eurocrine® database

Phaeochromocytoma is an unusual adrenal tumour with hormonal overproduction of catecholamines leading to a severe condition, including extreme hypertension in some situations. It is treated with surgery. Medical treatment before surgery is used to minimize surgical complications related to high blood pressure. A large proportion of phaeochromocytomas are detected incidentally, without symptoms, on radiological examination for other reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in patient characteristics and surgical results in patients operated with or without symptoms of phaeochromocytoma. Patients registered in the large, European database, Eurocrine®, between 2015 and 2020 were included in the study. The study showed that phaeochromocytoma without symptoms is common. Medical treatment before surgery does not seem to affect complications.