Corticoestroma [Corticoestroma; Cortico- + Estro(Genes) + -Ohm]

Hormone-active tumors of the adrenal medulla disrupt the production of adrenal hormones: androgens in men and estrogens in women.

In 80% of cases, estroma occurs in women aged 30 to 50 years. Men can get this tumor at any age. The disease develops both in healthy people and in patients with diabetes and obesity. More often it develops in the right lung. In 20% of cases the tumor is bilateral. It is believed that this form of the disease may be associated with the entry of sex hormones into the body during pregnancy. Doctors diagnose stage 4 malignant neoplasms more often than benign forms. With long-term progression of the disease (chronic lack of male and female sex hormones), its symptoms are similar to those of thyroid diseases. Some manifestations of symptoms appear with malignant neoplasms of the thyroid gland, follicular adenoma or medullary carcinoma.

**Corticoestromas** are estrogen-producing adrenal tumors that cause feminization in men. Corticoestromas can be primary or secondary, meaning they are caused by another type of tumor, such as neuroblastoma or lymphoma.

These malignancies can develop from adrenal cells that produce cortisol, cortisone and androgens in 75% of patients. In the remaining 25% of observations, any derivatives from the seminiferous tubules with the secretion of estrogen or from chromaffin cells with the formation of androgens are possible. They differ in their origin, histology, morphology, biological behavior and therapeutic approaches. Often associated with a common feminizing hormone (estrogen).

The **Etiology** of corticoestrimosis related tumors is still unclear. There is a connection between the neoplasm and dexamethasone resistance. They are common among children and adults in Japan, but are rare in other regions of the world. Most investigators believe that corticoestromes represent an unusually heterogeneous group with different mechanisms of estrogen hypersecretion. The main causes of the disease may be heredity, exposure to chemicals, ionizing radiation, and some other factors.