A rare coexistence of adrenal cavernous hemangioma with extramedullar hemopoietic tissue: a case report and brief review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Cavernous hemangiomas of the adrenal gland are rare, benign, non-functioning neoplastic tumors. To our knowledge, 55 cases have been reported in the literature to date. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the first case of a large, non-functioning adrenal cavernous hemangioma that was incidentally found during the preoperative staging workup of a 75 year old woman with left breast adenocarcinoma. Imaging with US, CT scan and MRI showed a heterogeneous 8 cm mass with non-specific radiological features that was located on the left adrenal gland. The mass was surgically excised and pathology revealed an adrenal hemangioma with areas of extramedullar hemopoiesis. CONCLUSION: Although adrenal hemangiomas are rare and their preoperative diagnosis is difficult, they should always be included in the differential diagnosis of adrenal neoplasms.