So your doctor will likely have your urine and blood tested to check your hormone levels, and maybe do some imaging to be sure what it is. Having the tumors doesn’t make you any more likely to get adrenal cancer, but it can be hard to tell the difference between an adenoma and a tumor that’s cancer. You might not have any symptoms, and you only find out about the condition because you got imaging for some other issue. Often, you wouldn’t even know you have one of these tumors. When you have conditions like these, you have a defect in one or more genes that can have different effects on your body. That’s a network of glands that produce and release hormones that help control many important functions in your body. In this rare genetic disorder, noncancerous tumors form in the endocrine system. This is a rare condition characterized by the presence of hundreds or even thousands of noncancerous polyps (growths) in the large intestine and upper respiratory tract.

Causesĭoctors don’t know what causes adrenal gland adenomas, but you’re more likely to get one if you have certain genetic conditions, such as:įamilial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Typically, surgery and medicine can successfully treat the symptoms. The extra hormones from the tumor can lead to several conditions, such as Cushing’s syndrome. But some of them are functioning tumors - that means they make the same hormones as your adrenal glands. Most adrenal gland adenomas don’t cause any problems - they just take up space. Hormones are like messengers that scoot around your body and tell your organs what to do - from how to handle stress to controlling blood sugar levels. Your two adrenal glands, one on each kidney, make hormones. If you have an adrenal gland adenoma, you have a tumor on your adrenal gland, but it’s not cancer. They form a mass that normally wouldn’t be there, and that mass may or may not be cancer. You get a tumor when instead of growing in their usual, orderly way, a group of cells starts to grow out of control. When most people hear the word tumor, their next thought is cancer.

Kidney adrenal gland tumor