Adrenal Cancer - Causes and Treatment Options!

The adrenal glands are responsible for the production of growth hormones. Adrenal cancer increases the rate of production of these hormones and so there is excessive sexual characteristics development including excessive facial hair, breast enlargement in males, deepening of voice, and early onset of menstruation in females. In addition to sexual characteristics, other symptoms can include increased blood pressure, increased blood sugar, weight gain, and depression which can all be general and nondiagnostic. If you notice secondary sex characteristics developing very abnormally, then the doctor might suggest screening for adrenal cancer.

Adrenal cancer is not very easy to diagnose. It will only get diagnosed when it is quite big and begins to press on other organs. The doctor will make a clinical correlation and with additional screening, come to the diagnosis. Treatment depends on how advanced the cancer is and the exact location. In most cases, it would be a combination with surgical excision or radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy to prevent spread. Surgical excision is done depending on the extent of spread and the location of the cancer. Adjacent lymph nodes, if affected, also need to be removed.

The answer is a yes and no here. Adrenal cancers are very rare and are extremely difficult to diagnose. Also, the symptoms are not very diagnostic. Added to this is the complexity of the organ location. However, once diagnosed, they can be removed surgically and then followed with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy to control the spread. Adjacent lymph nodes, if affected, also should be removed to prevent further spread. Do a deepdive to understand how far the spread is and how well the tumor is removed.

Given their very low incidence and diagnosis difficulties, adrenal cancers are often diagnosed once they have progressed considerably. However, those which get deposited on the glands via spread from other organs are detected much earlier. In any case, the treatment depends on when they are diagnosed and how far the spread is. A combination of radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy is used. Adrenal tumors also require management of excessive hormones which are produced with adrenal cancer.