Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Recurrent hyperparathyroidism due to parathyroid carcinoma
  1. H. A. Ellis,
  2. M. Floyd,
  3. F. K. Herbert1
  1. Department of Pathology, The Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne.
  2. Department of Medicine, The Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne.
  3. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, The Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne.

    Abstract

    The case is described of a woman who died with a functioning parathyroid carcinoma 19 years after removal of two parathyroid tumours, considered at the time to be benign. Following operation hyperparathyroidism subsided, with a short period of hypocalcaemia, and severe osteitis fibrosa cystica healed. Five years before death progressive renal failure developed with normal and later raised serum calcium levels. At necropsy a parathyroid carcinoma infiltrated the thyroid at the site of the previous operation and there was a solitary hepatic metastasis. A remaining parathyroid gland was nodularly hyperplastic and the bones showed evidence of active osteitis fibrosa. The relationship between parathyroid hyperplasia and neoplasia is discussed. Acceptable cases of parathyroid carcinoma are rare, but carcinoma is an important cause of recurrent hyperparathyroidism even months or years after removal of an `adenoma'.

    Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Footnotes

    • 1 Retired in 1965.