Pheochromocytoma
What is it?
Pheochromocytomas are tumors that develop on the adrenal glands. Pheochromocytomas cause excessive secretion of adrenal hormones and are usually benign (non-cancerous). Only 10% of these tumors are malignant (cancerous).
Who gets it?
Most pheochromocytomas occur sporadically without other diseases. You may develop these tumors if you have medullary thyroid cancer or other syndromes such as Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN2A and MEN2B), Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis, Griffith's syndrome, and Lindau's syndrome.
What causes it?
Ten percent of pheochromocytomas are heriditary. Others occur randomly, or are a symptom of other syndromes as mentioned above.
What are the symptoms?
High secretions of adrenal hormones can cause life-threatening hypertension and irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). Other symptoms include headaches, severe sweating, and blurred vision. You may also experience nervousness, anxiety, weight loss, and constipation.
How is it diagnosed?
Your doctor will examine you and take a complete medical history. He or she will order blood tests to check for elevated hormone levels and will do a urine screening. Because pheochromocytomas are usually large, they may show up on an x-ray. However, a CT scan is the most sensitive test for locating these types of tumors. An MRI may also show signs of
pheochromocytomas.
What is the treatment?
Your doctor will begin with drug treatment to restore blood volume, relieve the danger of a severe attack, and to allow you to recover from any damage to the heart. The pheochromocytoma is then surgically removed.
Self-care tips
While there is nothing you can do to prevent pheochromocytomas, in most cases the outlook for recovery is good with early treatment.
This information has been designed as a comprehensive and quick reference
guide written by our health care reviewers. The health information written
by our authors is intended to be a supplement to the care provided by your
physician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for
professional medical advice.
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