A Rare Constellation of Hürthle Cell Thyroid Carcinoma and Parathyroid Carcinoma

J Clin Diagn Res. 2015 Dec;9(12):OD08-10. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2015/16540.6983. Epub 2015 Dec 1.

Abstract

Separate occurrence of thyroid and parathyroid carcinoma in patients is extremely rare, and to the best of our knowledge, only 7 patients with documented parathyroid and papillary thyroid carcinomas have been described formerly in published reports. We report a patient with an extremely unusual clinical presentation of Hürthle cell carcinoma in thyroid and parathyroid carcinoma. The patient displayed a rare presentation of life-threatening hypercalcaemia after total para-thyroidectomy and failed to respond to standard therapy. Our review of available literature yielded insufficient evidence in managing such. When a patient with thyroid cancer is diagnosed, checking for serum calcium is advised. This is considered a useful method for detecting possible incidental parathyroid lesion and screening the probable concealed parathyroid pathology.

Keywords: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis; Hypercalcaemia; Primary hyperparathyroidism; Thyroid nodule.

Publication types

  • Case Reports