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Cushing’s syndrome can precipitate diabetes but mask non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Lai Y Wong, John Moore, Debbie Hill, Phil Brenner, Warick Delprado, Jennifer Turner, Joanne Taylor, Lesley Campbell and Jerry R Greenfield
MJA 2008; 188 (4): 262

To the Editor: We report the serendipitous finding of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in a patient with adrenal Cushing’s syndrome.

A 62-year-old previously well man (body mass index, 22 kg/m2) was referred to our institution with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. Clinical findings included oral thrush, bilateral severe pitting lower limb oedema, lower limb proximal myopathy, kyphosis, and increased abdominal girth (waist circumference, 92 cm), raising suspicion of Cushing’s syndrome (Box 1).

Biochemical assessment revealed normal electrolytes, an unsuppressed early morning cortisol (following 1 mg dexamethasone), urinary free cortisol 6475 nmol/day (reference range, 0 – 250 nmol/day), and undetectable adrenocorticotropic hormone levels. Twenty-four-hour urinary catecholamine was normal. His testosterone level was 3.2 nmol/L, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate level was normal.

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©The Medical Journal of Australia 2008 www.mja.com.au PRINT ISSN: 0025-729X ONLINE ISSN: 1326-5377