Adrenal Cancer

Diagnosis

Symptoms

Adrenal cancer may grow a long time before abdominal pressure, pain or other problems are noticed. Thus, adrenal cancer is difficult to diagnose in its early stages. In many cases the tumor has spread outside the adrenal gland by the time a physician diagnoses it. In other cases, physicians find an adrenal tumor by chance when they order an image for another condition. Half of all adrenal cancers secrete hormones that cause symptoms.

Adrenal tumor symptoms may include:

• Flank pain
• Fever
• Weight loss
• Abdominal fullness
• Body changes (due to hormone excess)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Diagnosis

Mayo Clinic uses blood and urine tests (including hormone level tests), computed tomographic (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear scintigraphy and positron emission tomography (PET) scans to diagnose adrenal cancer. Occasionally, other tests may be ordered.

CT scans generate two-dimensional images of the body that may reveal whether cancer has invaded other tissues or organs.

MRI technology uses magnetic fields and radio waves to identify small abnormalities in the adrenal glands. MRI scans are also used to determine if cancer has spread to other organs. The scan can help distinguish cortical from medullary tumors, and some malignant tumors from benign tumors.

Nuclear scintigraphy can be used to show the differences between certain types of adrenal gland tumors. Technicians inject a compound containing radioactive iodine into the body and then take images that show the parts of the body where the iodine builds up. This helps to determine whether cancer exists in the body.

PET scans create three-dimensional views of the adrenal gland. PET scans may point out locations of high metabolic energy within body cells, often occurring in cancerous tissue. PET scans can provide information about whether cancer has spread outside the adrenal gland.