Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2012 , Vol 15, Issue 2
A RARE MALIGNANCY IN THE ELDERLY PATIENT: PARATHYROID CARCINOMA
Mustafa ÜNÜBOL1, Engin GÜNEY1, Aykut SOYDER2, Serdar ÖZBAŞ2, Muhan ERKUŞ3
1Adnan Menderes University Medical Faculty Department of Endocrinology AYDIN
2Adnan Menderes University Medical Faculty Department of Surgery AYDIN
3Adnan Menderes University Medical Faculty Departments of Pathology AYDIN
Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare neoplasm, accounting for less than 1% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Parathyroid carcinoma usually manifests during the fourth decade. A 77- year old female patient presented with weakness. The patient's laboratory results showed serum calcium (Ca) value of 13.6mg/dl (reference range:8.4-10.2 mg/dl), serum parathormone (PTH) value of 385pg/ml (15-65 pg/ml) and the patient's condition was concluded to be primary hyperparathyroidism. In parathyroid scintigraphy, the late images taken 2 hours after the injection of 25mCiTc-99m MIBI revealed focal sestamibi retention in the zone corresponding to the thyroid left lobe lower pole inferior (Figure 1). Considering parathyroid adenoma, parathyroidectomy was performed. The pathology result was parathyroid carcinoma. Although the disease is most common in the fourth decade, parathyroid carcinoma should be considered as a rare malignancy in the elderly. Keywords : Hypercalcemia; Parathyroid Neoplasms; Aged