Types of adrenal gland tumours
Adrenal gland tumours can be cancerous or non-cancerous. A cancerous tumour can grow into nearby tissue and destroy it. The tumour can also spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Cancerous tumours are also called malignant tumours.
A non-cancerous (benign) tumour does not spread to other parts of the body and is not usually life-threatening. Most adrenal gland tumours are non-cancerous.
Adrenal gland tumours are grouped as functional and non-functional.
Functional tumours
make too much of certain
Non-functional tumours usually don’t make any hormones and don’t cause symptoms.
A cancerous tumour that spreads to an adrenal gland from another part of the body is called secondary adrenal gland cancer. It's different than cancer that starts in an adrenal gland (called primary adrenal gland cancer). It isn't treated in the same way as primary adrenal gland cancer. Secondary adrenal gland cancers include melanoma skin cancer, lymphoma, and lung, breast, kidney and colorectal cancer. Secondary adrenal gland cancer is more common than primary adrenal gland cancer.
Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC)
Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is the most common primary adrenal gland cancer. It's also called adrenal cancer or adrenal cortical cancer. It starts in the outer layer of the adrenal gland (called the adrenal cortex).
ACC is often found when it produces hormones that cause changes in the body or when the tumour causes symptoms because it's large. Sometimes it's found when imaging tests are done for other health reasons.
About 60% of ACCs are functional tumours. The adrenal gland produces too much of a certain type of hormone. The most common hormone overproduced by ACC is cortisol. Other hormones that may be overproduced are aldosterone, androgens and estrogen.
ACC affects the right adrenal gland more often than the left.
Pheochromocytoma
A pheochromocytoma is a tumour that starts in the inner layer of the adrenal gland (called the adrenal medulla). Most pheochromocytomas are non-cancerous, but some may be cancerous.
Pheochromocytomas start in the chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla. These cells look like nerve cells but produce hormones like endocrine cells. Most pheochromocytomas are functional tumours and produce too much of the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine (called catecholamines).
They are usually found in one adrenal gland, but they sometimes occur in both adrenal glands, or in more than one area at the same time.
A small number of pheochromocytomas start in the chromaffin cells outside the adrenal medulla. These are called extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas. They occur most often in the abdomen. They are more likely to be cancerous than pheochromocytomas that start in the adrenal gland.
Neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that starts in immature nerve cells
(neuroblasts) of the sympathetic
Neuroblastoma can develop anywhere in the sympathetic nervous system, but it starts most often in the adrenal gland.
Neuroblastoma most commonly develops in babies and young children.
Find out more about neuroblastoma.
Adrenal adenoma
An adrenal adenoma is a non-cancerous tumour that starts in the outer layer of the adrenal gland. Adrenal adenomas are the most common type of tumour in the adrenal gland. They are often found when an imaging test of the abdomen is done for other health reasons.
If the adrenal adenoma stays small and is non-functional, treatment may not be needed. If treatment is done, treatment options include:
- tracking the growth of the adenoma with CT scans
- checking for changes in hormone levels with blood tests
If the adenoma is functional, treatment options include:
- surgery to remove the adrenal gland that contains the adenoma
- drugs that block the hormones made by the tumour
- drugs that control symptoms due to too much production of certain hormones – this may be used for people who can't have surgery because of other health problems