Question: Is a Cushing’s patient at higher risk for cancer during Cushing’s and also after cure?

Answer: No, not if one’s Cushing’s syndrome is not a complication or consequence of a malignant tumor of the adrenal gland that produces cortisol or of another tissue that produces ectopic ACTH or, extremely rarely, CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone). The great majority of patients have Cushing’s syndrome caused by benign pituitary tumors (Cushing’s disease) or benign adrenal or non-adrenal tumors. They have no more risk of cancer than anyone else.

By Dr. David Orth MD (Summer, 2000)