Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare disease and its incidence has been reported
to be 0.5∼5% of all primary hyperparathyroidism cases. Compared to adenoma,
parathyroid carcinoma shows higher levels of serum calcium and parathyroid
hormone. When there is evidence of generalized bone disease along with the
involvement of a neck mass in the hypercalcemic patient, parathyroid
carcinoma should not be ruled out. The histological characteristics of
malignant cells include nuclear pleomorphism, an increase in
Nucleus/Cytoplasm (N/C) ratio, hyperchromatism, abnormal mitosis and
prominent nucleoli. Furthermore, malignat cases involve capsular and
vascular invasion as well as metastasesis to the lungs, cervical lymph nodes
and bones. The biological behavior of parathyroid carcinoma seems to be
variable with a wide range of malignancy. Surgical excision is the first
therapeutic option. In this paper, we report and review our experience in a
case of parathyroid carcinoma in a 66- year-old female with hypercalcemia,
ureteral stones and a neck mass.
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