Adrenal Cancer

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Hormone Therapy for Adrenal Cancer

For people with adrenal cancer, medicines may be needed to treat the effects of hormones made by the tumors.

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Why hormone therapy is used

Hormone treatment might be done because the tumor can’t be removed completely. Or it might be done to treat the effects of the hormones before surgery is done to help make the procedure safe.

Medicines for hormone-making tumors

Treatment with some of these medicines might be supervised by an endocrinologist (hormone specialist) because adrenal cancers and their treatment can affect the levels of several hormones.

Tumors making too much cortisol

These tumors might be treated with:

  • Metyrapone
  • Ketoconazole
  • Mifepristone
  • Etomidate
  • Pasireotide
  • Osilodrostat

Tumors making too much aldosterone

These tumors might be treated with:

  • Spironolactone
  • Eplerenone
  • Canrenone
  • Potassium canrenoate
  • Amiloride

Tumors making too much testosterone

Tumors making too much male sex hormone might be treated with:

  • Bicalutamide
  • Finasteride
  • Spironolactone

Tumors making too much estrogen

Tumors making this female sex hormone might be treated with:

  • Tamoxifen

Tumors making too many catecholamines

These tumors might be treated with:

  • Doxazosin
  • Terazosin
  • Prazosin
  • Phenoxybenzamine
  • Metoprolol
  • Nicardipine
  • Amlodipine
  • Metyrosine

More information about hormone therapy

To learn more about how hormone therapy is used to treat cancer, see Hormone Therapy.

To learn about some of the side effects listed here and how to manage them, see Managing Cancer-related Side Effects.

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Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

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Last Revised: October 5, 2026

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