Changes in clinical features and long-term prognosis in patients with pheochromocytoma

Abstract To investigate changes in preoperative clinical features and the long-term outcome of tumor recurrence, mortality, and morbidity in patients with pheochromocytoma, we retrospectively examined changes in the clinical features by comparing 49 patients from 1957 to 1985 (group I) with 46 patients from 1986 to December 1995 (group II). In addition in these 95 patients (excluding 2 who had died before operation), we evaluated long-term postoperative outcome from the initial operation to August 1996 (909 patient-years). The mean age in group II was older than that of group I. The percentage of patients having proteinuria or hypertensive retinopathy in group II was less than that in group I. Of 20 patients with incidentally discovered pheochromocytoma, 7 (35%) were ≥60 years old, 7 asymptomatic, and 11 (55%) normotensive. Plasma and urinary catecholamines in these patients were significantly ( P Pheochromocytoma should be diagnosed from a wide spectrum of clinical features including those that are not generally suspected of resulting from excess catecholamines or hypertension, and after surgery, patients with this disease should be followed-up carefully for a long period (at least 10 years) because of the risk of tumor recurrence and the high prevalence of disease.