[Multiple phaeochomocytomas (author's transl)].

Abstract

Multiple phaeochromocytomas represent a polytopic form of chromaffin tumours. The tumours may arise simultaneously or sequentially in chromaffin tissue, particularly in the retroperitoneal space. Malignancy can only be assumed if there are metastases to organs which do not contain chromaffin tissue. Their origin may be regarded as a dysontogenetic event. The clinical picture is dominated by the excretion of catecholamines. Laboratory tests are therefore used to determine the suspicion of the presence of a chromaffin tumour. A patient with an eight-year history is described, who had had four operations and in whom, by radiology or surgery, seven phaeochromocytomas had been found. The value of various radiological methods is discussed. The most informative method is arteriography; in view of the possibility of multiple tumours, aortography should be carried out in the first instance.