title: Parathyroid carcinoma presenting as a giant mediastinal retrotracheal functioning cyst.
abstract: Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare malignancy of the parathyroid glands, and is the cause of primary hyperparathyroidism in fewer than one percent of cases. Symptoms are mainly due to local compression or hypercalcaemia secondary to markedly elevated parathyroid hormone levels. A minority of patients remain asymptomatic. Mediastinal parathyroid cysts are infrequent and may or may not be functioning. We present an 84-year-old woman with a giant functioning cystic parathyroid carcinoma located in the middle mediastinum. We performed a thorough MEDLINE and LILACS database search on published cases of parathyroid carcinoma and functioning parathyroid cysts, and found no case report with identical features to the one presented here.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Gascon 450, Buenos Aires C1181ACH, Argentina. fernando.vazquez@hospitalitaliano.org.ar
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Aparicio
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diehl
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049950:Hyperparathyroidism, Primary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008476:Mediastinal Cyst / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018447:Medical Futility; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D010280:Parathyroid Glands / Q000473:pathology; D010282:Parathyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014133:Tracheal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery