Statistics About Adrenal Cancer

Some people use statistics to try to figure out their chances of getting cancer or to figure out how likely it is that they will be cured. Statistics show what happens with large groups of people. However, because no two people are alike, statistics cannot be used to find out what will happen to a particular person.

These are some statistics from the American Cancer Society about adrenal cancer:

• Adrenal adenomas (noncancerous tumors) are found much more frequently than cancerous adrenal tumors. They often have no symptoms, but show up on about one out of every 10 people who have imaging tests like CT scans or MRIs of the adrenal glands.

• Adrenal cortical cancer, called adrenal cortical carcinoma, is very rare. There are probably about 300 new cases per year, but the actual number of cases is not known. They are far less common than adrenal adenomas.

• The average age of people who have adrenal cortical cancer is around 45 to 50, but this cancer can occur at any age, even in children.

• Adrenal cortical cancer seems to occur slightly more often in females.