Background: Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) is an infrequent and often aggressive malignancy with a very poor prognosis. It can be classified as functional or nonfunctional. Nonfunctional ACC is hampered by the absence of specific signs or symptoms; only abdominal pain with or without incidental adrenal occupation is typically present.
Case summary: We report a rare case of a patient with a 30 cm × 15 cm × 8 cm ectopic ACC on the anterior abdominal wall without organ adhesion. A 77-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of a huge abdominal mass, which, by ultrasonography, had an unclear border with the liver. Computed tomography showed that the mass was not associated with any organ but was adherent to the anterior abdominal wall. The patient underwent tumor resection, and a postoperative pathology examination showed a neuroendocrine tumor, which was diagnosed as ACC. The patient was disease-free at the 9-mo follow up.
Conclusion: The anterior abdominal wall is a rare site of ACC growth.
Keywords: Abdominal wall; Adrenocortical carcinoma; Case report; Ectopic; Nonfunctional.