How is pheochromocytoma treated?

Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
Updated on August 31, 2024
00:00
00:00

Currently, for the treatment of pheochromocytoma, it is primarily important that once diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, one should promptly visit the local hospital to arrange surgical treatment as soon as possible. By surgically removing the pheochromocytoma, this prevents the excessive secretion of catecholamines, which can lead to a hypertensive crisis in patients. Therefore, clinically, after diagnosing and locating the pheochromocytoma, receiving surgical treatment can often achieve satisfactory therapeutic outcomes. Typically, appropriate preparations must be made before surgery. Generally, prior to the operation, it is crucial to actively administer medications such as alpha-adrenergic blockers, beta-adrenergic blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, vasodilators, and catecholamine synthesis inhibitors to effectively treat and stabilize blood pressure.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
45sec home-news-image

Pheochromocytoma secretes what?

Pheochromocytoma typically refers to tumors that originate from chromaffin tissue of the neural crest, and more often the tumors arise from sympathetic or parasympathetic ganglia, primarily secreting catecholamines. Many patients, due to long-term secretion of catecholamines, experience significant hypertension; severe cases may lead to hypertensive crises and cause serious damage to the heart, brain, and kidneys, or even life-threatening conditions due to severe hypertension. In most cases, if diagnosed and treated early, satisfactory treatment results can often be achieved. Those with pheochromocytoma should visit local hospitals in a timely manner for early diagnosis and treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
46sec home-news-image

Is surgery necessary for pheochromocytoma?

For patients diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, it is recommended to undergo surgery as soon as possible. Complete surgical removal of the tumor often results in a very good therapeutic effect. Before surgery, some medications can be appropriately used for treatment. For example, it is advised to choose adrenergic receptor blockers, which can significantly improve the patient's condition. These can be taken orally before the operation to help gradually regulate blood pressure, or other medications such as calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and vasodilators may be used. Only through a combination of medication and surgery can satisfactory treatment results be achieved.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
43sec home-news-image

Is pheochromocytoma a cancer?

Pheochromocytoma is not a cancer. It is a special type of tumor tissue that usually originates from the neuroectodermal chromaffin tissue. It can secrete catecholamines. Based on the specific origins of the tumor cells, it can be divided into types such as parasympathetic, paraganglioma, sympathetic, and ganglioneuroma. Most often, it presents with long-term hypertension, which can cause damage to the heart, brain, and kidneys due to prolonged hypertension, or severe increases in blood pressure can lead to hypertensive brain hemorrhage, thereby endangering the patient's life. Early treatment is often necessary.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
40sec home-news-image

Pheochromocytoma typical manifestations

For pheochromocytoma, the term usually refers to tumors arising from the chromaffin tissue of the neural crest. Clinically, the main typical symptoms include severe hypertension, along with nausea, vomiting, intense headache, and dizziness. Additionally, it may also cause the patient to be in a continuous high metabolic state, characterized by persistent hyperglycemia, nausea, vomiting, and excessive sweating. If not treated promptly and effectively, it may pose serious threats to the patient's heart, brain, and kidneys. In severe cases, it could even be life-threatening. Surgery is commonly recommended for treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
46sec home-news-image

Pheochromocytoma hypertension medication

For pheochromocytoma, it is often recommended to use adrenergic receptor blockers for the treatment of hypertension. These can be divided into α-adrenergic receptor blockers and β-adrenergic receptor blockers. In addition, all other types of antihypertensive drugs can also be used frequently during treatment. For example, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium channel blockers also play a helpful role in the treatment of pheochromocytoma. Besides pharmacological treatment, the fundamental approach is to perform qualitative and localization diagnosis, and after confirmation, to surgically remove the pheochromocytoma completely to fundamentally achieve therapeutic goals.