Ectopic thyroid in the adrenal presenting as an adrenal incidentaloma

Adrenal incidentalomas are clinical dilemmas for the clinicians. The work up, to differentiate between malignant and benign lesions, and hyperfunctioning and nonfunctioning lesions is mandatory before the consideration of surgical resection. Ectopic thyroid tissue located in the adrenal gland (ETTAG) is a very rare condition. We report a case of ETTAG presenting with adrenal incidentaloma. A 57-year-old woman was admitted with incidental right adrenal mass. Hormone evaluation showed no hormonal activity. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 20x17 mm lobulated solid mass, which contained millimetric hypointense nodular areas consistent with calcifications. Loss of signal intensity on out-of-phase could not be evaluated because of the calcifications. Right adrenalectomy was performed to establish the histopathological diagnosis and to rule out malignancy. Histopathological diagnosis revealed ETTAG. Her medical history was positive for multinodular goiter and bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy 32 years ago. Thyroid ultrasonography showed residual thyroid tissue in both the right and left lobes, and colloid thyroid nodules. Fine needle aspiration biopsy from the nodules revealed benign nodules. The patient has been followed up for six years, and no change in thyroid nodule sizes and no evidence of metastatic foci have been detected. ETTAG would be considered in the differential diagnosis of adrenal mass showing no hormonal activity, especially when magnetic resonance images are not consistent with adrenal adenoma. Long follow-up duration of this case suggests that it was a benign condition

Image-guided Cryotherapy for Musculoskeletal Tumors

Background: This article represents a review about the use of image-guided cryotherapy in the treatment of musculoskeletal tumor lesions. Cryotherapy is able to induce a lethal effect on cancer cells through direct and indirect mechanisms. In this manuscript, we combined our experience with that of other authors who have published on this topic in order to provide indications on when to use cryotherapy in musculoskeletal oncology. Discussion: Image-Guided percutaneous cryotherapy is a therapeutic method now widely accepted in the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal tumors. It can be used both for palliative treatments of metastatic bone lesions and for the curative treatment of benign bone tumors such as osteoid osteoma or osteoblastoma. In the treatment of bone metastases, cryotherapy plays a major role in alleviating or resolving disease-related pain but it has also been demonstrated that it can have a role in local disease control. In recent years, the use of cryotherapy have also expanded for the treatment of both benign and malignant soft tissue tumors. Conclusion: Percutaneous cryotherapy can be considered a safe and effective technique in the treatment of benign and malignant musculoskeletal tumors. Cryotherapy can be considered the first option in benign tumor lesions such as osteoid osteoma and a valid alternative to radiofrequency ablation. In the treatment of painful bone metastases, it must be considered secondarily to other standard treatments (radiotherapy, bisphosphonate therapy and chemotherapy) where they are no longer effective in controlling the disease or when they cannot be repeated (for example radiotherapy)