Chad Gilbert, guitarist and co-founder of the pop-punk band New Found Glory, died Sunday at 45, his wife, Lisa, and the band said in a joint statement. The statement, reported by Consequence, said he "passed away peacefully in his sleep" on the morning of Sept. 20 with his wife and mother at his side. The family did not release a cause of death, and this article does not speculate about one.
Gilbert had spoken publicly about cancer since 2021. In April 2026, he said his diagnosis had been revised from metastatic pheochromocytoma to stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the adrenal gland. His updates introduced many fans to a cancer few people have heard of, one that is often diagnosed at an advanced stage and can be hard to tell apart from other adrenal tumors.
A Diagnosis That Changed Over Five Years
Gilbert's illness began in 2021, when doctors removed a rare tumor from his adrenal gland that was initially diagnosed as a pheochromocytoma, according to Consequence. The cancer later spread to his spine, lungs, back, and brain, and he underwent multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. Earlier this year, he had emergency brain surgery to remove three tumors, Deadline reported.
The two diagnoses involve different parts of the same small gland. Each adrenal gland sits atop a kidney. According to the National Cancer Institute, adrenocortical carcinoma forms in the outer layer, called the cortex, which makes hormones that help regulate blood pressure, salt and water balance, and how the body uses protein, fat and carbohydrates. Pheochromocytoma forms in the inner core, called the medulla.
The distinction matters because the two cancers are managed differently, which is why specialists stress expert review of tumor tissue.
About One Case Per Million, and Often Quiet Until Late
Adrenocortical carcinoma is among the rarest adult cancers. A peer-reviewed case report and literature review in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports puts annual incidence at roughly 0.7 to 2 cases per million people. The disease has two age peaks, one in early childhood and another in adults in their 30s and 40s, and it affects women slightly more often than men.
Many of these tumors produce excess hormones, and the resulting symptoms can mimic everyday conditions. Excess cortisol can cause weight gain around the midsection, a rounded face, high blood pressure, diabetes, easy bruising, and muscle weakness. Excess androgens can cause acne, new hair growth, a deeper voice or irregular periods, and some men develop breast tissue. Other tumors make no extra hormones and are noticed only when they grow large enough to cause abdominal fullness or back pain.
That can delay diagnosis. The same review cites a 1990 study of 105 patients in which symptoms lasted an average of 8.7 months before diagnosis, and 30% already had cancer in distant organs. Between 15% and 20% of cases are first discovered incidentally on scans ordered for something else. Most adrenal masses found this way are benign, so a scan finding alone is not a reason for alarm.
Certain inherited conditions raise risk, including Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Lynch syndrome, and familial adenomatous polyposis, according to NCI and Yale Medicine. For most people who develop the cancer, no cause is identified.
Surgery Offers the Best Chance, but Advanced Disease Is Hard to Treat
Complete surgical removal of the tumor by an experienced surgeon is currently the only treatment that can cure the disease, according to the review. After surgery, some patients receive mitotane, a drug that targets adrenal tissue, to lower the chance of recurrence, though the review notes that much of the supporting evidence comes from retrospective studies. For advanced disease, a trial of 304 patients found that mitotane combined with three chemotherapy drugs improved response rates and slowed progression compared with another mitotane-based regimen, but it did not significantly lengthen overall survival.
Survival depends heavily on stage. The American Cancer Society, using federal SEER data for people diagnosed from 2015 to 2021, reports five-year relative survival of 80% when adrenal cancer is localized, 62% when it has spread regionally, and 39% when it has reached distant organs. Those figures cover adrenal gland cancers broadly. Many clinical series report lower survival for adrenocortical carcinoma specifically, with five-year overall survival below 30% in most, according to the review.
Some specialists caution against reading too much into those numbers. "Because adrenocortical carcinoma is such a rare cancer, reported survival rates may be underestimated," Dr. Courtney Gibson, an endocrine surgeon at Yale's Smilow Cancer Hospital, said in Yale Medicine's patient guidance. Because the disease is so rare, much of the evidence comes from case series and registries rather than large randomized trials, a real limitation for patients weighing their options.
Symptoms That Deserve a Doctor's Attention
Most people with abdominal pain, weight gain, or high blood pressure do not have adrenal cancer. Still, a cluster of rapid, unexplained changes, such as new high blood pressure with weight gain around the middle, easy bruising, and muscle weakness in a younger adult, is worth raising with a primary care clinician, who can order hormone tests and imaging. Families with a known inherited cancer syndrome can ask about appropriate screening.
Because the disease is rare, NCI and Yale both emphasize care from teams that include endocrine surgeons, endocrinologists, and oncologists. Newly diagnosed patients can ask whether their hospital treats adrenal tumors regularly and whether a second pathology opinion makes sense. Clinical trials are an important option for advanced disease, and hospital financial counselors can help with travel and insurance questions.
Gilbert's family has not said what caused his death. His public updates gave a rare cancer a familiar face. For anyone facing a similar diagnosis, the most useful next step is a conversation with a specialist team about stage, pathology, and trial options.
Key Questions Answered
What happened to Chad Gilbert? The New Found Glory guitarist died Sept. 20 at 45, according to a statement from his wife and the band. The family did not release a cause of death. In April 2026, Gilbert said his cancer diagnosis had been revised to stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma.
What is adrenocortical carcinoma? It is a rare cancer that forms in the outer layer of the adrenal gland, which sits on top of each kidney and makes hormones that help control blood pressure and metabolism. It is different from pheochromocytoma, which forms in the gland's inner core.
How rare is it? A peer-reviewed review estimates about 0.7 to 2 new cases per million people each year. It peaks in early childhood and again in adults in their 30s and 40s.
What symptoms can it cause? Hormone-producing tumors can cause weight gain around the middle, a rounded face, high blood pressure, diabetes, easy bruising, muscle weakness, acne, excess hair growth or irregular periods. Tumors that make no hormones may cause abdominal fullness or back pain.
How is it treated? Complete surgical removal offers the best chance of cure. Doctors may add mitotane after surgery, and advanced disease is often treated with mitotane plus chemotherapy, sometimes with radiation or through clinical trials.
Should people worry about an adrenal mass found on a scan? Most adrenal masses found incidentally are benign. A clinician can order hormone tests and follow-up imaging to determine whether further evaluation is needed.
