Endocrine cancer affects glands without hormone-secreting ducts, causing excessive hormone secretion and potentially damaging healthy tissue. Benign tumors can be surgically removed, while malignant tumors may require radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or hormone-controlling drugs. Early detection is key for successful treatment.
Any cancer that affects the endocrine system in the body is known as endocrine cancer. The endocrine system contains all glands that lack hormone-secreting ducts, such as the thyroid, pituitary, pancreas, and adrenal glands. The result of endocrine cancer is usually excessive hormone secretion, which can affect the rest of the body.
Abnormal growth of a tumor near one of the endocrine glands may be the result of an endocrine cancer. The tumor can be benign or malignant. A benign tumor can be surgically removed and has little impact on a person’s well-being. A malignant tumor, on the other hand, is cancerous and invasive. It attacks and damages healthy body tissue and can spread rapidly if left untreated.
The tissues that make up the endocrine system have complex functions. They secrete various levels of hormones which in turn work in various ways throughout the body. These hormones can regulate metabolism, cause chemical reactions in cells, and even affect the ability of some substances to migrate through cell walls. Endocrine cancer causes these tissues to secrete abnormal levels of hormones.
In well-functioning glands, a built-in mechanism allows them to secrete more hormones when levels are too low and to stop producing hormones when levels are too high. When endocrine cancer affects these glands, they no longer regulate secretion normally. Examples of endocrine cancer are pancreatic cancer and tumors of the pituitary, adrenal glands, thyroid and parathyroid glands.
Pancreatic cancer can involve exocrine or endocrine tumors, but the vast majority are exocrine. Adrenal gland tumors affect one of the two main parts of the adrenal gland — the adrenal cortex or the adrenal medulla — and nearly all adrenal cancer is adenoma, a benign, nonfunctioning tumor found on the adrenal cortex. The vast majority of thyroid tumors, also called thyroid nodules, are benign, and thyroid tumors are mostly papillary or follicular. Most types of endocrine cancer, including pituitary and parathyroid cancers, can be treated and cured if caught early enough, but many grow without symptoms, making them difficult to detect.
Treatment of endocrine cancer varies depending on the type of tumor, benign or malignant, and the behavior of the tumor. A benign tumor can be surgically removed with little or no side effects for the person receiving treatment. Malignant tumors, however, can be aggressive, can produce excess hormones, and can spread rapidly to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors can be treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. There are also drugs that can help control hormone secretion, mitigating the side effects of the tumor.
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