Sustained remission of metastatic adrenal carcinoma during long-term administration of low-dose mitotane.

We present our experience with two female patients suffering from metastatic, recurrent adrenocortical carcinomas, to whom o,p'-DDD (mitotane) was administered for unusually long duration. The first patient received mitotane as monotherapy after relapse (in doses ranging from 3 to 6 g/day initially and 1 g/day thereafter, for 13 yr). The second patient presented with metastatic disease and underwent radical surgical excision of the adrenal. Mitotane was administered initially at 2.5 g/day, and the dose was gradually lowered over 8 yr to 1 g/day, without interruption. Both patients tolerated the medication well, regardless of the daily dosage, with complaints limited to epigastric pain and nausea, while their disease has been kept under control for 14 and 16 yr, respectively. The blockade of steroid synthesis with mitotane resulted in hypercholesterolemia in both patients and in premature menopause in the second patient; however, these abnormalities were taken care of with the appropriate therapy. The excellent follow-up of these patients suggests that even in hopeless cases with metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma, mitotane should be administered for very long periods of time as it can be well-tolerated and may be beneficial in the long run.