Computed tomography in the diagnosis of metastases of the adrenal glands.

Forty-six patients with carcinoma in the advanced stages were examined with computed tomography to identify possible metastatic tumor in the adrenal glands. Thirty-four of these patients had the adrenal glands examined macroscopically and histologically within three months. In only one computed tomography examination were the adrenal glands nonevaluable. Of seven adrenal glands with metastases, five were correctly diagnosed by computed tomography. The examination with false-negative results was due to only microscopically detectable tumor invasion of both the adrenal glands. All five macroscopically observed metastases were identified by computed tomography. There were no false-positive results. It is concluded that computed tomography is an accurate method for identifying macroscopically observable adrenal metastases.