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Query: UMLS:C0677930 (primary tumor)
 20,210 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Parathyroid carcinoma constitutes less than 1% of primary hyperparathyroidism. The exact etiology is not known. Prior radiation to neck, chronic renal failure and genetic factors are thought to play a role. The male to female ratio is one. Parathyroid carcinomas are slow growing, have a tendency to recur locally and metastasize late. 95% of parathyroid carcinomas are functioning. The major distinguishing features of malignant hyperparathyroidism are presence of a palpable mass in the neck and features of severe hypercalcemia. By far the most important test to diagnose primary hyperparathyroidism is serum level of Immunoreactive PTH. The diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism is essentially clinical and biochemical. Biopsy is not necessary before definitive surgery. CT scan appears to be the best investigation for detecting the primary tumor, its local extent and metastases. Most of the symptoms are attributable to hypercalcemia, which needs to be treated aggressively. Early surgery with 'en bloc' resection of the tumor is the only potentially curative treatment. Parathyroid carcinoma is traditionally said to be resistant to radiotherapy. Various chemotherapeutic agents have been used with partial anecdotal responses. The 5-year survival is about 50% and 10-year survival varies from 13-49%.
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PMID:The carcinoma of parathyroid gland. 1531 9

We report a 47-year-old women who presented to her general practitioner and our hospital with weight loss of unknown etiology. Eight years previously she had undergone a hemithyroidectomy for nodular goiter with one cold nodule. Laboratory results revealed hypercalcemia, evidence of primary hyperparathyroidism and computer tomography of the thorax showed bilateral pulmonary metastasis. After undergoing CT-guided biopsy of a metastasis, histology revealed an endocrine primary tumor with low parathyroid hormone expression. In view of the history, clinical and biochemical findings we diagnosed a recently metastasized functioning parathyroid carcinoma, which eight years previously has been labeled as a benign atypical thyroid adenoma. The patient underwent surgical resection of all detected metastases. Afterwards the serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels normalized. Parathyroid carcinoma is an uncommon tumor. In the absence of pathognomonic diagnostic criteria a definitive pathological diagnosis of parathyroid carcinoma often is not possible. The treatment of parathyroid carcinoma is essentially surgical. Patients with parathyroid carcinoma mostly die from uncontrollable hypercalcemia rather than from other tumor-related complications.
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PMID:[Rare cause of hypercalcemia]. 1921 66

Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) accounts for less than 0.005% of all cancers and less than 5% of causes of hyperparathyroidism. This tumor is difficult to identify during surgery, which is detrimental to the oncologic results. Surgery is still the main treatment for the primary tumor and to control parathyroid hormone levels after recurrence. We report a case of recurrent parathyroid carcinoma in a 30-year-old man, identified and managed with the use of a gamma probe during surgery. To our knowledge, this is only the second report of a gamma probe being used to guide resection of a recurrent PC. We discuss the diagnosis and treatment, analyzing the current evidence-based literature.
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PMID:Use of a gamma probe to identify and guide resection of recurrent parathyroid carcinoma: report of a case. 2126 60

Parathyroid carcinoma is an uncommon malignancy and a rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. Although this tumor is capable of metastasis, metastatic disease is very uncommon intracranially, with only seven cases reported in the literature. When intracranial metastases occur, they typically present months to years following the diagnosis of the primary tumor with hypercalcemia refractory to medical conservative treatment. Aggressive surgical resection of all metastases is necessary for control of the disease. We report a case of metastatic parathyroid carcinoma with two intracranial metastatic foci (in the left frontal lobe and left cerebellar hemisphere) identified at the time of the primary tumor diagnosis in a patient who presented with symptomatic hypercalcemia.
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PMID:Parathyroid carcinoma with intracranial metastasis at diagnosis in a patient with uncontrolled hypercalcemia. 2536 37