By contrast, true primary cancer of the adrenal gland is rare, occurring in 0.5 to 2 people per million. Both benign adenomas and carcinomas of the adrenal gland can provide abnormal levels of hormones giving rise to a variety of symptoms and syndromes. A third type of adrenal lesion includes metastatic tumors from other organs. The evaluation of adrenal lesions is aimed primarily at characterizing their size and activity. Often, this requires a CT Scan, an MRI and an Endocrinologic work-up to determine if the lesion is functioning to over produce hormones.
Treatment depends on many factors and ranges from simple observation to surgical removal.
Surgery is indicated in patients with localized tumors and may be accomplished in a variety of ways such as removal through a standard incision or via minimally invasive techniques such as laparascopy. Chemotherapy is reserved for patients with advanced or metastatic adrenal lesions. Observation is acceptable in informed patients with small, non growing, non functioning tumors that are likely to be benign. Clinical Trials Clinical trials, sometimes called research protocols, are studies that evaluate the effectiveness of new interventions. There are different types of cancer clinical trials.