Symptoms of Adrenal Cancer

Symptoms

Most adrenocortical cancers are found after they have been growing for years. Fewer than 30% of adrenocortical cancers are confined to the adrenal gland at the time of diagnosis.

The most common symptom reported by patients with adrenocortical cancer is pain in the back or side (called the flank).

Unfortunately, this type of pain is common and does not directly suggest a disease of the adrenal cortex. In adrenocortical cancer, these symptoms usually are due to pressure caused by the tumor as it compresses organs, nerves and other structures around the adrenal gland. Some patients describe feeling full with no appetite because of pressure on the stomach and other abdominal organs.

Adrenal cancers act in one of two ways:

They secrete hormones and are called functional tumors, or they do not and are called non-functional tumors. Some adrenal cancers, and even some benign adenomas, are functional and secrete excessive amounts of hormones. Approximately 60% of patients will experience symptoms because of these high levels of hormones in the blood. These symptoms include:

• Weight gain and fluid retention
• Early puberty in children
• High blood pressure (more common in adenomas and pheochromocytomas)
• Excess facial and body hair growth in women
• Excess breast tissue in men
• Easy bruising
• Muscle weakness
• Diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Mood changes

Continue learning about adrenal cancer and tumors

• Diagnosis and Staging
• Treatment
• Genetics and Adrenal Cancer
• Outcomes
• Request an Appointment

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