CHRONIC ADRENOCORTICAL INSUFFICIENCY AND CARCINOMA OF THE BREAST

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Abstract
A 28-year-old woman had a bilateral adrenalectomy for Cushing''s syndrome. The resulting chronic adrenal insufficiency was well controlled with constant, small physiologic amounts of cortisone and desoxycorticosterone. Three and one-half years later she developed carcinoma of the breast with axillary metastases. This observation would tend to minimize the possibility of a necessary etiologic role of adrenal cortical dysfunction or hyperfunction in the genesis of breast cancer. In our patient the unknown cause or causes of breast cancer were independently sufficient to intitiate the abnormal process and to allow it to progress without change in adrenal cortical function. The tumor was a fairly well-differentiated carcinoma; a type of tumor which has been said to respond most favorably to adrenalectomy.