Complications of the endocrine system affect millions of adults each year. While many complications can be prevented, there are those individuals who suffer from endocrine disorders related to genetic or hereditary complications. Endocrine tumors are a complication that may be prevalent among those with genetic complications as well as those who suffer from an acquired endocrine disorder.
Endocrine tumors are often misdiagnosed. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, some endocrine disorders can lead to syndromes that impair quality of life and affect long term health. In the case of ectopic endocrine tumors, while rare, it is possible to develop a complication of Cushing’s syndrome. Attributed to a malignancy in the mesentery, if you suffer from ectopic endocrine tumors that are malignant in nature, it is important that you speak with your healthcare professional about the long term risks for Cushing’s syndrome.
As a form of treatment, your physician will most likely recommend a thyroidectomy. The goal of your treatment, with a malignant endocrine tumor and to manage the risks of Cushing’s syndrome, involves the management and reversal of hypercortisolism. In addition to the thyroidectomy, your physician may also recommend the removal of any potential pituitary lesions. With the continued risk for lesion develop throughout the bodily systems, the presence of neuroendocrine tumors should be managed closely and effectively, once diagnosed.
Measuring cortisol levels by way of urine tests is an effective tool for determining if neuroendocrine complications are well controlled. In addition, surgical removal of your neuroendocrine tumor is necessary and then CT scans should be performed regularly to determine if the health complication has resulted in additional development of ectopic endocrine tumors. In some cases, chemotherapy and radiation therapy will prove effective and provide for some degree of recovery from the endocrine complication and the development of Cushing’s syndrome.
Complications involving the endocrine system are quite common. However, the complications arising from ectopic endocrine tumors are not so common and, as a result, are often misdiagnosed. Without proper diagnosis, the complication may become malignant, resulting in the development of lesions throughout other bodily systems. When lesion development leads to adverse complications in the thyroid and pituitary gland, for example, surgical removal of those lesions will be necessary. Because of the long term effects of Cushing’s syndrome, the early diagnosis of this type of rare endocrine disorder is important to your long term health and the resolution of possible secondary health complications.
