Parathyroid Cancer is a Very Rare Disease.
Parathyroid cancer and its treatment is discussed in detail.

Almost all parathyroid problems are caused by one or more of the parathyroid glands producing too much parathyroid hormone (PTH). This is called hyperparathyroidism and it causes a number of medical problems such as osteoporosis, mental disorders, ulcers, pancreatitis, kidney stones, and other symptoms. However, the overgrowth of parathyroid tissues responsible for this overproduction of parathyroid hormone (PTH) is NOT malignant and therefore they are usually referred to as parathyroid adenomas (benign parathyroid hormone secreting tumors). In other words, the typical patient with parathyroid disease has a benign tumor of one of their parathyroid glands.

Parathyroid disease is caused by a single bad parathyroid gland about 95-96% of the time. Since there are 4 parathyroid glands, removing one bad one becomes the simple way to cure the problem. This is true even if its cancer... (but it almost never is!).

Parathyroid glands are no different than every other tissue in the human body--they can develop cancer in them.  Parathyroid cancer, however, is extremely rare, with only a few dozen cases seen every year in the US.  Parathyroid cancer is so rare, that most doctors have never seen it. (Editorial note from Dr. Norman:  I operate on about 1800 patients per year with parathyroid disease, with patients coming from all over the U.S. and many foreign countries. Even with this volume of parathyroid patients, I only see one case of parathyroid cancer only about once or twice per year. It is so rare, that you should not be reading about it !!!).

Very rarely, a parathyroid gland will become cancerous (the overgrowth is composed of malignant cells). Since parathyroid cells make parathyroid hormone (PTH) as their only purpose in life, those that are cancerous (growing out of control) will make PTH "out of control" as well. In fact, that is a big tip-off that a patient with hyperparathyroidism might have parathyroid cancer since these malignant tumors will produce "massive" amounts of parathyroid hormone instead of "large" amounts like are seen with benign parathyroid tumors (adenomas or hyperplasia). All patients with hyperparathyroidism have elevated parathyroid hormone in their blood, those with benign disease tend to have levels in the "hundreds" where as those with parathyroid cancer tend to have values in the "thousands".  Parathyroid cancer, parathyroid Parathyroid cancer parathyroid cancer, parathyroid disease causes high calcium. Parathyroid surgery for parathyroid operation parathyroid cancer, parathyroid cancer treatment of parathyroid cancer.

PARATHYROID CANCER TREATMENT OVERVIEW

There are treatments for ALL patients with parathyroid cancer. Two kinds of treatment are used: surgery (surgical removal of the parathyroid cancer and any nearby tissues which are affected), and radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays to kill cancer cells). Chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells) is being studied in a few clinical trials, but there have been no good chemotherapy drugs identified as effective up to this point. Parathyroid cancer is treated by parathyroid surgery by parathyroid surgeons.
Surgery is the most common and by far the best treatment for parathyroid cancer. Treatment for parathyroid cancer depends on the size of the tumor, its location, and whether or not it has spread to other tissues. The parathyroid gland (parathyroidectomy) and the half of the thyroid on the same side as the cancer (thyroid lobectomy) is typically removed. This is what is shown in this picture (slightly enlarged). This cancer was almost completely inside the thyroid gland so the thyroid was split in half (along the yellow line) to expose the parathyroid tumor inside. The cancer is the large round mass in the central and lower portions of the thyroid--we have outlined the cancer with a black line. Lymph nodes are sampled on that side of the neck if they can be found. The presence of enlarged lymph nodes necessitates a lymph node dissection (removal of all the lymph nodes in that area of the neck). Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors, but this is almost never the preferred way in which to treat parathyroid cancer initially. If the parathyroid cancer reappears after some time, or if it has grown into other structures at the time of the initial operation, then radiation therapy may be an appropriate additional therapy. *Photo courtesy of James Norman, MD and the Norman Parathyroid Clinic.

Parathyroid Hormone is measured annually for many years to check for recurrence.  Parathyroid experts note that the malignant, over-active parathyroid cells produce parathyroid hormone... Thus, once it is out, a simple check of the patient's blood will tell if there is too much parathyroid hormone being produced.

The MIRP Procedure (Minimally Invasive Radioguided Parathyroid surgery) works extremely well for parathyroid cancer.  Minimally invasive radioguided surgery has been a huge development in the treatment of all forms of parathyroid disease.  The concept is to make the hyper-active parathyroid cells radioactive with a mild radioactive substance that is absorbed by the overactive cells. The surgeon operates using a very small (pencil size) radiation detector and thus can tell where all of the overactive parathyroid cells are located in the body.  This works extremely well for all patients with parathyroid disease, including those with parathyroid cancer.  There are several pages of information on the MIRP procedure on this web site:  Minimal Parathyroid Surgery is the first, and The MIRP Operation is the second. Many experts now believe that all parathyroid cancer patients should have their cancer operated on using radioguided techniques.

Radioguided Parathyroid Surgery (MIRP) can be a very useful technique for re-operations.   If measuring the parathyroid hormone postoperatively (a few months, or many years later) shows that the parathyroid tumor has recurred (come back in the neck, or metastasized to another part of the body), then a Sestamibi Scan will typically show where the tumor is located, and a radioguided parathyroid operation can be performed. Once again, the radioactive tumor cells can be found with the probe, and the surgeon (trained in radioguided surgery) can find and remove them.  This technique is usually considerably more accurate, and typically less invasive than a 'standard' parathyroid operation.

Clinical trials are going on in some parts of the country for patients with parathyroid cancer. If you want more information, call the Cancer Information Service at the National Cancer Institute 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).