There are two newly popular drugs which show promise. Lupron and Tamoxifen both act by blocking estrogen receptor sites, and may prove useful. Another drug that is being tried is Anipryl, which is used to treat Cushing's Disease in dogs and cats. Unfortunately, Anipryl acts only on the pituitary gland, and therefore probably has little or no effect on ferret adrenal tumors. Although all of these drugs are relatively safe to try, all of them are quite expensive.
Surgical techniques are also controversial.
Although removal of the left adrenal gland has become almost routine, removal of the right one is still a difficult, lengthy and sometimes dangerous procedure, due to the fact that the right adrenal gland is attached to the vena cava, the largest blood vessel in the body. It isn't always possible to tell which gland is involved, even by use of ultrasound. At this hospital, we are developing a microsurgery technique that will allow complete removal of the right gland and attached portion of vena cava, with closure of the cut vena cava. Whether treated with surgery or drugs or both, survival time for adrenal tumor patients tends to be good. In most cases, we can improve quality of life as well as quantity for several years.