Familial and multiple phaeochromocytomas.

HYMAN and Mencher (1943) first reported the occurrence of phaeochromocytomas in more than one member of a single family. A familial incidence of these tumours has since been observed in at least seventeen apparently unrelated families (see Carman and Brashear, 1960 for earlier references; Smits and Huizinga, 1961; Cushman, 1962; Grunstein and Finkelstein, 1962; Tisherman, Gregg and Danowski, 1962; Hagen and Barrows, 1963). Approximately 9%/, of all patients with phaeochromocytomas harbour the tumours in both adrenal glands (Graham, 1951; Barbeau, Marc-Aurele, Brouillet, Yitke, Leboeuf, Cartier, Mignault and Genest, 1958; Hume, 1960), but the incidence of bilateral adrenal tumours rises to 24% in children and to about 50% in familial cases §Hume, 1960). We report here the occurrence of bilateral adrenal phaeochromocytomias in one patient and of a single adrenal phaeochrome tumour in his sister.