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Surgical Oncology Manual pp 1–12Cite as

Tumours of the Adrenal Gland

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Abstract

Tumours of the adrenal gland are very common. They can be functional or non-functional, benign or malignant or arise in the adrenal cortex or medulla. The majority of adrenal tumours are benign non-functioning adenomas that are found incidentally on abdominal imaging for another cause (adrenal incidentaloma). Due to the risk of malignancy, incidentalomas over 6 cm should be removed while those under 4 cm may be followed with serial imaging. Benign functioning adrenal adenomas can secrete aldosterone, cortisol or androgens. After appropriate work-up, all functioning adrenal lesions should be surgically removed. 60 % of cases of adrenocortical carcinoma present with symptoms of hormone excess. After work-up, localized disease is treated with surgical resection and consideration of adjuvant mitotane. Pheochromocytomas may be benign or malignant. Essential components of perioperative management include alpha blockage followed by beta blockade.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. General Surgical Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Vanessa Palter M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C.

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Karen Devon MD,MSc,FRCSC,FACS, Julie Hallet M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S.C., Girish S. Kulkarni M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C., Calvin H. L. Law M.D., M.P.H., F.R.C.S.C. & David R. Urbach M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S.C.

Authors
  1. Vanessa Palter M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C.
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  2. Karen Devon MD,MSc,FRCSC,FACS
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  3. Julie Hallet M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S.C.
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  4. Girish S. Kulkarni M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C.
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  5. Calvin H. L. Law M.D., M.P.H., F.R.C.S.C.
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  6. David R. Urbach M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S.C.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vanessa Palter M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Frances C. Wright

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Jaime Escallon

  3. Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Panama City, Panama

    Moises Cukier

  4. General Surgical Oncology, University of Toronto, 1X5, Ontario, Canada

    Melanie E. Tsang

  5. General Surgical Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Usmaan Hameed

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© 2016 University of Toronto General Surgery Oncology Program

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Palter, V., Devon, K., Hallet, J., Kulkarni, G.S., Law, C.H.L., Urbach, D.R. (2016). Tumours of the Adrenal Gland. In: Wright, F., Escallon, J., Cukier, M., Tsang, M., Hameed, U. (eds) Surgical Oncology Manual. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26276-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26276-5_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26274-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26276-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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