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Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology

Patient and Family Education

Adrenocortical Carcinoma (Cancer of the Adrenal Cortex)

Treatment Options

There are three primary treatment options for patients with cancer of the adrenal cortex:

1. surgery
2. chemotherapy
3. radiation therapy

Surgery

Surgery is local therapy to remove the tumor. Tissues around the tumor and nearby lymph nodes may also be removed during the operation. When treating cancer of the adrenal cortex, a doctor may take out the adrenal gland in an operation called an adrenalectomy. Tissues around the adrenal glands that contain cancer may also be removed. Lymph nodes in the area may be removed as well (lymph node dissection).

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells. Most anticancer drugs are injected into a vein or muscle; some are given by mouth. Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, meaning that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every part of the body to kill cancerous cells. It is generally given in cycles; a treatment period is followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on.

Radiation Therapy (also called radiotherapy)

Radiation therapy is treatment with high-energy rays that damage cancer cells and stop them from growing and dividing. It is a local therapy that only affects cancer cells in the treated area. Radiation may come from a machine (external radiation) or from an implant placed directly into or near a tumor (internal radiation). External radiation is typically the method used for cancer of the adrenal cortex. Besides treatment for the cancer itself, a patient with cancer of the adrenal cortex may also receive therapy to prevent or treat symptoms caused by the extra hormones that are made by the cancer.

This page was last updated on: September 23, 2009.

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