title: Parathyroid cancer - difficult diagnosis - a case report.
abstract: Parathyroid cancer is a rare disorder of unclear etiology that is difficult to diagnose and treat. It is most often diagnosed incidentally based on multi-organ non-specific symptoms of hypercalcemia as a consequence of parathyroid hormone oversecretion. We present a case of a male with primary hyperparathyroidism who was diagnosed with parathyroid cancer ectopically located in the mediastinum only after the third surgery. However, due to chronic hypercalcemia, problems with localization and a bad clinical condition, the patient was not able to undergo a radical resection and one year after the first pathological fracture died. Taking into consideration the whole clinical picture we want to emphasize the need to apply comprehensive differential diagnosis of hypercalcemia and localization diagnosis of parathyroid tissue with a use of MIBI scintigraphy accompanied by the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, as the most specific diagnostic tools employed in this pathology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland. olip3@wp.pl.
authors.forename: Aleksandra Joanna
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Pyzik
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Matyjaszek-Matuszek
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zwolak
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chrapko
authors.forename: Dawid
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pyzik
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Strawa-Zakościelna
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010282:Parathyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011859:Radiography; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: CT; MIBI scintigraphy; MRI; hyperparathyroidism; parathyroid cancer