Endocrine Neoplasia & Hormonal Disorders

Cancers of endocrine glands are rare, but their optimal treatment requires the same attentive diagnosis and therapy as more common malignancies. MD Anderson’s Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders department provides comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for patients with endocrine system tumors, both malignant and benign. Here’s just a partial list of diseases treated by our physicians, nurses and other caregivers:

• Thyroid cancer and management of other thyroid disorders
• Cancers and benign tumors of the adrenal glands
• Hyperparathyroidism and parathyroid tumors
• Pituitary tumors
• Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
• Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) I and II
• Inherited endocrine tumors, including childhood endocrine tumors

Specialized care is required when cancer affects the endocrine system. Disruptions to the body's delicate hormonal balance from cancer or the therapies used to treat it can have long-reaching effects, particularly in pediatric patients. Treating the tumor itself just isn't enough. Our mission includes anticipation and management of treatment-related side effects, including diabetes mellitus, pediatric growth disorders and metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis.

Our multidisciplinary approach offers patients the best possible outcome, so that successful treatment doesn't have to be a compromise. Our specialists work closely with teams of physicians from other departments to manage patients with these diseases. Our endocrinologists collaborate with our surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists to provide dedicated state-of-the-art patient care, while performing clinical research to evaluate how best to apply the most recent developments in cancer medicine.  As part of this approach we provide comprehensive services for patients who were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus as a result of their cancer treatment. Our Glycemic Management Program assists other providers with their patients with glycemic disorders.  

Through our Bone Health Clinic  we perform thorough evaluations including bone mineral and laboratory testings.  Treatment is individualized with the goal of preserving bone density and reducing risk of fracture in our cancer patients.

We believe that education of both patients and other medical professionals is essential. We share our considerable expertise with other health care professionals through endocrinology fellowship programs in collaboration with other Houston-area hospitals. We also provide a list of resources for genetic testing of endocrine tumors.

Medullary thyroid cancer and its primary treatment

Mimi Hu, M.D., and Maria Cabanillas, M.D., from Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders and Elizabeth Grubbs, M.D., from Surgical Oncology were interviewed on the Management of Medullary Thyroid Cancer for Practice Update.

Registration to view the video is free for anyone.