Learn enough about adrenal cancer to make decisions about your care.

With time, you'll find what helps you cope with the uncertainty and distress that comes with a cancer diagnosis. For adrenal cancers that can't be removed with surgery or that return after initial treatments, chemotherapy may be an option to slow the progression of the cancer.Įxplore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition. ChemotherapyĬhemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses chemicals to kill cancer cells.

It can also help reduce pain and other symptoms of cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, such as the bone. Radiation therapy is sometimes used after adrenal cancer surgery to kill any cells that might remain. Radiation therapy uses high-powered beams of energy, such as X-rays and protons, to kill cancer cells. Research into mitotane for this use is ongoing. Mitotane (Lysodren) may be recommended after surgery for people with a high risk of cancer recurrence. Medication to reduce the risk of recurrenceĪn older drug that has been used to treat advanced adrenal cancer has shown promise in delaying the recurrence of the disease after surgery. If surgeons find evidence that cancer has spread to nearby structures, such as the liver or kidney, parts or all of those organs might also be removed during the operation.

To achieve this, doctors must remove the all of the affected adrenal gland (adrenalectomy). The goal of surgery is to remove the entire adrenal cancer. Other treatments might be used to prevent the cancer from coming back or if surgery isn't an option. Adrenal cancer treatment usually involves surgery to remove all of the cancer.

Symptoms of an adrenal tumor