Question: I had an adrenal tumor removed 20 years ago and have led a normal life with one adrenal gland. Do I need to be concerned about getting a tumor on the other adrenal gland? 

Answer: If you are healthy, there is most likely no reason to be concerned for a tumor or any other abnormality in the other adrenal gland. However, it is important to know what the histology of the lesion that was excised on the other side was: sometimes, what looks like a single tumor on imaging is hyperplasia by histology. If this is the case, the other adrenal gland may be affected. Typically cancer affects one gland only and given the years that have passed since the first surgery one needs to not be concerned about cancer in the remaining gland, but again, histology of the lesion that was excised is essential information to give the best advice.

By Dr. Constantine Stratakis, NICHD, NIH, Bethesda, MD, Winter, 2016