Primary adrenocortical tumors in autopsy records--a survey of "Cumulative Reports in Japan" from 1973 to 1984.

All cases of primary adrenocortical tumors, including those found incidentally, recorded in the Pathological Autopsy Case Annuals of Japan during a 12 year period from 1973 to 1984 were surveyed. Age- and sex-specific incidences of lesions were estimated from the population, mortality and autopsy statistics for the same period. There were 101 adenomas, 77 of which were presumed to be non-functional, and 222 carcinomas. The age-specific distribution profiles of both the benign and malignant tumors showed single peaks in the sixties and could not be distinguished from one another. The estimated age-specific distribution of morbidity of the non-functional adenomas showed a peak at about 10 years younger than that found in the autopsy records, although it was again similar to that of carcinoma derived from various clinical reports. The morbidity of the non-functional adenomas per 100,000 population was almost equal to that of breast cancer in Japan, being highest in the fifties age group with more than 4,000 people a year being suggested to have adenoma in this age bracket.