Adrenal Cancer

 

At the University of Michigan, we see more adrenal cancer patients than anyone else in the country.

The University of Michigan is home to the Multidisciplinary Adrenal Cancer Clinic, one of only a few medical centers in the U.S. recognized as an international center of excellence for treatment of adrenal cancer. And in 2008, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association named the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center a Blue Distinction Center for Complex and Rare Cancers. Tumors of the adrenal gland, specifically the adrenal cortex are very rare, occurring in one person in every million. In the United States, about 300-500 people are diagnosed with adrenocortical cancer every year. They usually occur in only 1 adrenal gland, but can occur in both.

Experience at Michigan in Treating Adrenal Cancer

The “multidisciplinary” in Multidisciplinary Adrenal Cancer Clinic means you get a team of doctors, who will review your case together and present your best treatment options, from a complete range of disciplines, including:

• Endocrine Surgery
• Medical Oncology
• Radiation Oncology
• Radiology
• Pathology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Cancer Genetics
• Endocrinology
• Nursing
• Social Work

University of Michigan adrenal specialists typically see 10 to 15 adrenal cancer patients each week and more than 200 visits a year. In their entire career, most doctors will never encounter a single case of adrenal cancer.

The One Place in the World with a Multi-Specialty Team for Treating Adrenal Cancer

Our team of adrenal cancer specialists will sit down together to review your case, ensuring you get the best treatment recommendation without the hassle of multiple appointments. Each case is reviewed by a consensus team of adrenal cancer specialists. By the time patients are seen in the clinic, all films, pathology and lab reports have already been obtained and reviewed, allowing for a comprehensive visit followed by presentation of the case at tumor board and consensus treatment planning the same day.

Research and Clinical Trials Lead to Innovative Treatment Options

The University of Michigan Health System’s Adrenal Cancer team is at the forefront of adrenal cancer research, having initiated multiple trials for adrenal cancer throughout the country and the world. In addition, U-M physicians wrote the first text book for adrenal cancer, “Adrenocortical Carcinoma”,  which is being used to train physicians around the world. On a global scale, U-M remains a key teacher and collaborator in basic, clinical and translational research on adrenal cancer.

Research is conducted through the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Endocrine Oncology Program, headed by Dr. Hammer. The program includes expertise in cancer stem cell, stem cell and basic cancer cell biology. This makes it possible for researchers to explore the basic biology of adrenal growth, and to develop new treatments including targeted biological-based therapies with the potential to attack cancer cells while sparing the healthy cells. The U-M Endocrine Oncology Program is the only program in the U.S. with sufficient patient volume to conduct a Phase II adrenal cancer trial at one location and such a trial is currently open to our patients.

Ongoing research includes studying the genetics and stem cell biology of adrenal cancer, identifying novel genetic mutations and signaling pathways that could ultimately lead to targeted therapies. Because the adrenal gland shares an embryologic origin with the testes and ovaries, this research could lead to better understanding of those cancer types as well.

Why Go to the University of Michigan?

At the University of Michigan’s Adrenal Cancer Program, we offer a combination of high level clinical expertise and industry leading research that results in the best possible care for the patients we serve. With our advanced surgical approaches, to our radiological therapies following surgery, to our systematic treatments to prevent the cancer from spreading, all grounded in the very latest research, we are ready to fight your adrenal cancer with everything we’ve got.