Adrenal cancer is a rare, aggressive form of cancer that occurs when cancer cells are found on your adrenal cortex.

Symptoms of Adrenal Cancer include:

Adrenal cancer can spread (metastasize) to other organs, and early diagnosis is key to stopping that spread. Surgery is the usual treatment, and your surgeon will remove the cancer wherever possible.

Masses or tumors found on the adrenal gland are called adrenal incidentalomas. The term “incidentaloma” refers to the fact that they are usually found unintentionally , typically while a patient is being examined for another pain or condition. They’re found in up to 5% of people receiving CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds of their abdomens.

Treatment for adrenal incidentaloma depends on the tumor or mass is impacting your body. Your endocrinologist will either suggest monitoring its appearance with CT or MRI scans or removing the adrenal mass with surgery.

When underactive adrenal glands don’t produce enough cortisol, the result is Addison’s disease (or adrenal insufficiency). Addison’s disease is potentially life-threatening and affects both sexes at any age.

Symptoms of Addison’s disease include: 

• abdominal pain
• constipation
• craving salty foods
• darkening of the skin
• diarrhea
• dizziness or lightheadedness upon standing
• fatigue
• muscle and joint pain
• nausea

Left untreated, the symptoms of Addison’s disease may lead to severe abdominal pain, low blood pressure, nausea, and vomiting. This is known as an adrenal crisis, and can be fatal if left untreated.

Treatment of Addison’s disease typically starts with replacing the hormones you’re lacking. And, because adrenal insufficiency is life-threatening, patients are encouraged to wear a medical alert device at all times.

When there is too much cortisol in your body, symptoms of Cushing’s disease can occur.

Symptoms include:

• depression
• easy bruising and poor wound healing
• high blood pressure and sugar
• increased acne
• increased thirst and urination
• irritability, anxiety, mood swings
• lack of periods and growth of facial hair (in women)
• tiredness
• weight gain and fat distribution in the abdominal region

Your treatment for Cushing’s disease depends on whether your case is caused by adrenal gland problems or medication. Treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, or drugs that reduce your cortisol production.

Acromegaly is a condition in which there is too much growth hormone in your body. In children, too much growth hormone causes gigantism instead of acromegaly (which is what happens to adults with too much growth hormone).

Symptoms of acromegaly include:

• carpal tunnel syndrome
• headache
• heart enlargement
• jaw pain or a pronounced jaw
• joint pain or enlargement
• enlarging hands or feet (e.g., rings no longer fit)

Treatment typically involves surgery to remove the tumor on your pituitary gland that’s causing the condition. Sometimes medications are also needed.

A pituitary adenoma is a noncancerous growth or tumor in the pituitary gland that does not spread beyond your skull. They often grow to be quite large and can put pressure on nearby structures­–such as the nerves that connect the eyes to the brain–and cause symptoms.

Symptoms of pituitary adenoma include:

• vision changes
• fatigue
• headaches
• hormonal changes (irregular menstrual cycles and/or sexual dysfunction)
• infertility
• nasal drainage
• unexplained weight gain or loss 

Pituitary adenomas are typically treated with medicine, radiation, or surgery.

If your pituitary gland does not produce normal amounts of some or all of its hormones, you may suffer from pituitary insufficiency (hypopituitarism). The pituitary gland releases an array of hormones: adrenocorticotropic, antidiuretic, follicle-stimulation, growth, luteinizing, oxytocin, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating. With hypopituitarism, there is a lack of one or more of these, which leads to loss of function.

Symptoms of hypopituitarism include: 

• abdominal pain
• decreased appetite
• dizziness
• excessive thirst and urination
• fatigue and weakness
• headache
• infertility
• lack of sex drive (in either sex)
• loss of body hair
• low blood pressure and blood sugar
• sensitivity to cold
• vision problems
• weight loss

If your hypopituitarism is caused by a tumor, you might need surgery and radiation therapy to remove it. You will also require lifelong hormone medications to replace hormones that are no longer being made by your pituitary gland. They may include: corticosteroids, growth hormone, sex hormones, thyroid hormone, or desmopressin.