Serum and Salivary Cortisol Assessment in Patients With Adrenal Incidentalomas and Healthy Controls (SALICOR)

January 16, 2026 updated by: Nanna Thurmann Jørgensen, Rigshospitalet, Denmark

Cortisol Assessment in Patients With Adrenal Incidentalomas

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of salivary cortisol compared with serum cortisol after a 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test in participants (N = 100) with adrenal incidentalomas and healthy control participants (N = 100). The main question it aims to answer is:

Are salivary cortisol and serum cortisol equal diagnostic tools for endogenous hypercortisolism?

The inclusion of healthy controls will serve as a reference population to define the central 95 % reference interval for the serum and salivary cortisol levels.

Participants will undergo routine medical examination of adrenal incidentalomas including 1 mg dexamethasone-suppression-test, 24 h urine sample, and measurement of plasma-adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). In addition to the routine biochemical tests, saliva samples will be collected the morning and evening before intake of dexamethasone as well as the following morning together with serum cortisol.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
209

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The patient group were patients newly diagnosed with an adrenal incidentaloma and referred to either the Department of Nephrology and Endocrinology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospi-talet, Denmark or Department of Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev Gentofte, Herlev, Denmark.

The controls were recruited through social media, online participant recruitment platform , the hospital website, and physical posters in public spaces around Copenhagen, Denmark.

Description

Inclusion Criteria (patients):

  • age ≥ 18 years, a new diagnosis of an adrenal incidentaloma (defined as an adrenal mass > 1 cm detected when using diagnostic imaging for non-related reasons).

Inclusion Criteria (controls):

  • age ≥ 18 years, no previous history of conditions involving the adrenal glands

Exclusion Criteria (patients):

  • active cancer; an adrenal incidentaloma suspected of malignancy; bilateral adrenal incidentalomas; pregnancy and breastfeeding; conditions or medical treatments that interfere with dexamethasone metabolism and cortisol metabolism/measurements; severe comorbidities; chronic kidney disease (defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min); and inability to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria (controls):

  • active cancer; pregnancy and breastfeeding; conditions or medical treatments that interfere with dexamethasone metabolism and cortisol metabolism/measurements; severe comorbidities; chronic kidney disease (defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min); and inability to provide written informed consent.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Healthy control group
Diagnostic test: 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test
Included participants will undergo routine medical examination including 1 mg dexamethasone-suppression-test, 24 h urine sample, and measurement of plasma-adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). In addition to the routine biochemical tests, saliva samples will be collected the morning and evening before intake of dexamethasone as well as the following morning together with serum cortisol.
Patients with adrenal incidentalomas
Diagnostic test: 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test
Included participants will undergo routine medical examination including 1 mg dexamethasone-suppression-test, 24 h urine sample, and measurement of plasma-adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). In addition to the routine biochemical tests, saliva samples will be collected the morning and evening before intake of dexamethasone as well as the following morning together with serum cortisol.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Salivary cortisol and cortisone in patients and controls following an overnight dexamethasone suppression test
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0, 08:00-09:00 hour) and post-dexamethasone (Day 1, 08:00-09:00 hour)
Cross-sectional evaluation of serum and salivary cortisol and cortisone after an overnight 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test in patients with adrenal incidentalomas and healthy controls.
Baseline (Day 0, 08:00-09:00 hour) and post-dexamethasone (Day 1, 08:00-09:00 hour)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Rigshospitalet, Denmark

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Copenhagen University Hospital at Herlev

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 24, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 26, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 26, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 30, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 16, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • H-16041718

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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