title: Familial medullary thyroid carcinoma: report of three cases in a family.
abstract: Familial medullary thyroid carcinoma is a distinct clinical entity in which early diagnosis by screening of family members for elevated calcitonin levels can be useful. A 33-year-old female was hospitalized because of an enlarging left thyroid mass. Resected thyroid showed medullary thyroid carcinoma. Her mother had received a total thyroidectomy due to the same disease 10 years previously, and her younger brother had an elevated basal calcitonin level of 468 pg/mL when the index case was diagnosed. The younger brother was advised to undergo surgery; a total thyroidectomy also revealed medullary thyroid carcinoma. There was no evidence of multiple endocrine neoplasia in the family. Recognition of new cases by screening with a basal or provocative test in families of patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma should be mandatory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Tz'u-Chi Buddhist General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013965:Thyroidectomy