Adrenal cancer, or adrenal gland cancer, occurs when abnormal cells form or metastasize (spread) to the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are located above each kidney. Adrenal cancer usually appears as a tumor and forms in the adrenal cortex, which is the outermost layer of adrenal glands.
The adrenal cortex makes certain hormones that regulate functions of the body. Most of the time, cancer found in the adrenal glands did not originate there but started in a different organ. Cancers that can spread to adrenal glands include lung cancers, melanomas and breast cancers.