Lung cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed malignancy worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related death (1). Adrenal involvement is identified in nearly 16% of patients with NSCLC (12). Despite advances in imaging, studies have shown that radiological methods for characterizing adrenal lesions may yield false-negative or false-positive results in up to 10% of cases (13, 17, 18). In our study, we demonstrated that SUVmax, N stage, T stage, CEA, CA125, and lesion size are important parameters in predicting whether an adrenal lesion represents metastasis or a benign process.
SUVmax is a metric that reflects tissue metabolic activity by measuring ^18F-FDG uptake on PET/CT. It is a well-established fact that tumour cells characteristically demonstrate elevated metabolic rates in comparison to normal tissue. Consequently, the presence of elevated SUVmax values is commonly associated with malignant disease (19). In the present cohort, SUVmax values were found to be significantly higher in patients with adrenal metastases compared with those with benign lesions. ROC analysis identified a cut-off of 3.05, which achieved an AUC of 0.86 with high sensitivity (89%) but only moderate specificity (69%). This finding aligns with the conclusions of previous studies in this field. Cho et al. demonstrated that a cut-off of 2.7 discriminated adrenal metastases with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94 (20), while Metser et al. described a threshold of 3.01 providing 98.5% sensitivity and 92% specificity (21). In univariate regression analysis, SUVmax was significantly associated with adrenal metastasis; however, it did not remain an independent predictor in the multivariate model, likely due to correlation with lesion size and N stage. When patients were stratified by the 3.05 threshold, 68.6% of those with SUVmax < 3.05 had benign lesions, whereas 88.4% of patients with SUVmax > 3.05 harbored metastases. These results confirm SUVmax as a strong predictive parameter, while also underscoring its limitations: approximately one-third of low-SUVmax lesions were later identified as early metastases or adenocarcinoma metastases with low FDG avidity (22).
CEA is a glycoprotein produced during intrauterine life that plays an important role in cell adhesion (23). While its use as a prognostic biomarker in colorectal cancer is well-documented, elevated CEA levels have also been associated with metastatic disease burden and the number of metastases in patients with lung cancer (24). In the present study, CEA levels were found to be significantly elevated in the metastasis group. ROC curve analysis indicated a cut-off value of 4.45 ng/mL, yielding moderate discriminatory capacity (AUC 0.69). Notwithstanding these limitations, regression analysis confirmed that elevated CEA was significantly associated with adrenal metastasis. This finding suggests that, while CEA alone is not a robust parameter for distinguishing metastasis from benign adrenal lesions, it may offer valuable complementary information when interpreted alongside clinical, radiological, and other biochemical parameters.
CA125 is a glycoprotein that is widely utilised as a prognostic biomarker, particularly in the context of gynaecological malignancies. Additionally, there have been suggestions that CA125 may be associated with metastatic disease in lung cancer (25). Nevertheless, the prognostic significance and diagnostic accuracy of the test for detecting metastasis in NSCLC remain uncertain. In the present study, CA125 levels were found to be elevated in the adrenal metastasis group in comparison with benign lesions. However, ROC curve analysis with a cut-off value of 24.5 U/mL demonstrated only limited sensitivity and specificity, indicating that CA125 has restricted value as a standalone parameter in distinguishing adrenal metastases from benign lesions.
The present study identified N stage as one of the strongest parameters for predicting adrenal metastasis. As demonstrated in Table 2, the distribution of T and N stages indicates that adrenal lesions detected in patients with T1–2 and N0–1 disease are more likely to be benign. Conversely, our logistic regression model demonstrated that adrenal lesions in patients with N3 stage carried a 12-fold higher risk of representing metastasis, which is a particularly striking finding. These results are consistent with those of previous studies suggesting that lymphatic dissemination plays a key role in the development of adrenal metastases in NSCLC (26).
Furthermore, adrenal lesion size was identified as a significant parameter for distinguishing between benign and metastatic lesions. In the present study, adrenal masses were found to be significantly larger in the metastasis group. Concurrent large series have similarly reported that malignant adrenal tumours tend to be larger than benign lesions (27). ROC analysis identified a cut-off value of 14.5 mm, above which the likelihood of metastasis increased approximately threefold. Nevertheless, the diagnostic performance of this threshold was found to be limited, exhibiting modest sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, 25.6% of adrenal metastases in the present cohort measured less than 14.5 mm, emphasising that small lesions cannot be assumed to be benign. In accordance with the extant literature, the present findings suggest that larger adrenal size is a useful predictor for metastasis, yet small lesions also warrant careful evaluation (28).
The strengths of our study include the selection of a homogeneous cohort restricted to NSCLC histology, thereby providing a more specific and focused sample. Moreover, by excluding patients with extrathoracic metastases and evaluating only cases with adrenal lesions, we were able to investigate adrenal involvement in greater detail. Another salient strength is the integrated evaluation of clinical, biochemical, and imaging parameters, which collectively furnish a more comprehensive evaluation of metastasis risk.
However, it is important to acknowledge several limitations of this study. The retrospective, single-centre design and the relatively limited sample size may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Furthermore, not all adrenal lesions were subject to pathological confirmation, and reliance on radiological follow-up in some cases may have introduced misclassification bias.