What is an adenoma? It’s a benign tumor marked by excessive growth of secreting epithelial cells, what’s referred to as glands. Glands are located all over and excrete a variety of substances, such as hormones, mucus, saliva, sweat and enzymes.
Since an adenoma can arise from most secretory glandular cells, their growth can occur in a large variety of organs. Some examples include your colon (called polyps), adrenal gland, pituitary gland, thyroid, parathyroid, prostate, bronchi, sebaceous glands, kidneys, pancreas and breasts.
The development of an adenoma may cause no noticeable health effects. However, they do have the potential to cause serious effects on your health. One consequence is compression of any adjacent structures. Another effect that can be very uncomfortable is the tumor’s unrestrained production of a large quantity of hormones. And in some cases, this overabundance sort of health effect has resulted in death.
Although adenomas are initially benign (and many retain this classification long term), they can progress into a malignancy. The primary health concern with this change is your tumor now has the capability to metastasize or invade adjacent organs and tissue. Should this transformation happen, then your mass is labeled as an adenocarcinomas.