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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ERC-08-0049v1 15/4/1127    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Timmers, H J L M Articles by Lenders, J W M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Timmers, H J L M Articles by Lenders, J W M

Departments of¹ Endocrinology (741)² , General Internal Medicine³ , Chemical Endocrinology⁴ Pathology, Epidemiology⁵ Biostatistics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands⁶ Department of Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology Program, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

(Correspondence should be addressed to H J L M Timmers; Email: h.timmers{at}endo.umcn.nl)

^* (H J L M Timmers and F M Brouwers contributed equally to this work)

The treatment of choice for non-metastatic pheochromocytoma is surgical resection. Its goals are to abolish catecholamine hypersecretion, normalize blood pressure, and prevent further tumor growth or progression to metastatic disease. Data on long-term mortality and morbidity after pheochromocytoma surgery are limited. We here report a retrospective study on the long-term outcome after surgery for apparently benign pheochromocytoma at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre. Data on clinical presentation, treatment, post-surgical blood pressure and recurrence, metastasis and death were collected of 69 consecutive patients (January 1966–December 2000; follow-up: until death or January 2006). Survival was compared with survival of a matched reference population. Two patients died of surgical complications. All ten patients with metastatic disease (including three diagnosed at first surgery) died. At follow-up, 40 patients were alive and recurrence free and three patients were lost to follow up. Two patients experienced a benign recurrence. Mean±S.D. follow-up was 10.2±7.5 (median 9, range 1–38) years. Kaplan–Meier estimates for 5- and 10-year survival since surgery were 85.8% (95% CI: 77.2–94.4%) and 74.2% (95% CI: 62.0–86.4%) for patients versus 95.5 and 89.4% in the reference population (P<0.05). Sixty-four percent of all patients with hypertension prior to surgery showed a significant decrease in blood pressure, but remained hypertensive after surgery. In conclusion, compared with the general population patients have a reduced life expectancy following pheochromocytoma surgery, due to their risk of developing metastatic disease. Only one-third becomes normotensive without antihypertensive medication. Therefore, lifelong follow-up is warranted.