Overview
Adrenal glands
Adrenal glands
Located on top of the kidneys, the adrenal glands make hormones that help regulate metabolism, the immune system, blood pressure and other important functions. Although small, these glands control much of what happens in the body.
Adrenal cancer is a growth of cells that starts in an adrenal gland. The adrenal glands are small, triangular glands located on top of the kidneys. Although small, these glands control much of what happens in the body. They make hormones that help control metabolism, blood pressure and other important functions.
Adrenal cancer is rare, and it can happen at any age. It's most likely to affect children younger than 5 and adults in their 40s and 50s. Adrenal cancer also is called adrenocortical carcinoma.
When adrenal cancer is found early, a cure may be possible. When the cancer has spread beyond the adrenal glands, a cure becomes less likely. In that situation, treatment may be used to keep the cancer from spreading more.
Most growths that form in the adrenal glands are not cancer. The medical term for that is benign. An example of an adrenal growth that is not cancer is adrenal adenoma.
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Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of adrenal cancer may include:
- Back pain.
- Belly pain.
- Losing weight without trying.
- Loss of appetite.
Many people who have adrenal cancer develop hormone changes in the body. These changes can happen if the cancer cells make extra hormones. Most often, the adrenal cancer makes the hormone cortisol. This can cause symptoms of Cushing syndrome, including:
- Weight gain.
- Muscle weakness.
- Pink or purple stretch marks on the skin.
- Bruises that happen even with a small injury.
- High blood pressure.
- High blood sugar or diabetes.
Less often, an adrenal cancer might make the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone. In females, changes in the sex hormones can cause extra facial hair, hair loss on the head and periods that aren't regular. In males, these hormone changes may cause the testicles to shrink and breast tissue to get bigger.
Rarely, adrenal cancer may make the hormone aldosterone. That can cause high blood pressure and low levels of potassium in the blood.
When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with a healthcare professional if you have any symptoms that worry you.
Causes
It's not clear what causes adrenal cancer.
Adrenal cancer happens when cells in the adrenal gland develop changes in their DNA. A cell's DNA holds the instructions that tell the cell what to do. In healthy cells, the DNA tells the cells to grow and multiply at a set rate. The DNA also tells the cells to die at a set time.
In cancer cells, the DNA changes give different instructions. The changes tell the cancer cells to grow and multiply quickly. Cancer cells can keep living when healthy cells would die. This causes too many cells.
The cancer cells might form a mass called a tumor. The tumor can grow to invade and destroy healthy body tissue. In time, cancer cells can break away and spread to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads, it's called metastatic cancer.
Risk factors
Adrenal cancer happens more often in people who inherit certain health conditions that raise the risk of some cancers. Those health conditions include:
- Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.
- Familial adenomatous polyposis.
- Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
- Lynch syndrome.
- Multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1, also called MEN 1.
Healthcare professionals haven't found anything that can prevent adrenal cancer.
Feb. 28, 2025