Incidentaloma

In medicine, an incidentaloma is a tumor (-oma) found by coincidence (incidentally) without clinical symptoms or suspicion. Like other types of incidental findings, it is found during the course of examination and imaging for other reasons. It is a common occurrence: up to 7% of all patients over 60 may harbor a benign growth, often of the adrenal gland, which is detected when diagnostic imaging is used for the analysis of unrelated symptoms. With the increase of "whole-body CT scanning" as part of health screening programs, the chance of finding incidentalomas is expected to increase. 37% of patients receiving whole-body CT scans have abnormal findings that may need further evaluation. Since many incidentally found lesions may never cause disease, there is a risk of overdiagnosis.