Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1971 Dec;24(9):851–855. doi: 10.1136/jcp.24.9.851

Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with parathyroid adenoma and hypercalcaemia

J B MacGillivray 1,2, C J B Anderson 1,2
PMCID: PMC477197  PMID: 5139990

Abstract

A patient with hyperparathyroidism due to a parathyroid adenoma was found to have metastatic medullary carcinoma in lymph nodes close to the thyroid gland. The finding of normal calcitonin and parathormone concentrations after removal of the adenoma suggested that the parathyroid lesion was not the result of the hypocalcaemic action of calcitonin produced by the tumour in the thyroid.

Seventeen other examples of the association between medullary carcinoma and parathyroid enlargement are briefly reviewed.

The pathogenesis of the parathyroid lesions is discussed, and it is suggested that some may be caused by the hypocalcaemic action of calcitonin, while others may be part of a syndrome of multiple endocrine adenomatosis.

Full text

PDF
855

Images in this article

853Image
on p.853
853Image
on p.853
853Image
on p.853

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Black W. C., Haff R. C. The surgical pathology of parathyroid chief cell hyperplasia. Am J Clin Pathol. 1970 May;53(5):565–579. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/53.5.565. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CUSHMAN P., Jr Familial endocrine tumors; report of two unrelated kindred affected with pheochromocytomas, one also with multiple thyroid carcinomas. Am J Med. 1962 Mar;32:352–360. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(62)90126-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Davies D. R., Dent C. E., Watson L. Tertiary hyperparathyroidism. Br Med J. 1968 Aug 17;3(5615):395–399. doi: 10.1136/bmj.3.5615.395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Freeman D., Lindsay S. Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland. Arch Pathol. 1965 Dec;80(6):575–582. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gonzalez-Licea A., Hartmann W. H., Yardley J. H. Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. Ultrastructural evidence of its origin from the parafollicular cell and its possible relation to carcinoid tumors. Am J Clin Pathol. 1968 Apr;49(4):512–520. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/49.4.512. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ibanez M. L., Cole V. W., Russell W. O., Clark R. L. Solid carcinoma of the thyroid gland. Analysis of 53 cases. Cancer. 1967 May;20(5):706–723. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(1967)20:5<706::aid-cncr2820200523>3.0.co;2-m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. McDermott F. T., Hart J. A. Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with hypocalcaemia. Clinical and ultrastructural observations. Br J Surg. 1970 Sep;57(9):657–661. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800570906. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Melvin K. E., Tashjian A. H., Jr The syndrome of excessive thyrocalcitonin produced by medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1968 Apr;59(4):1216–1222. doi: 10.1073/pnas.59.4.1216. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Moorhead E. L., 2nd, Caldwell J. R., Kelly A. R., Morales A. R. The diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. Analysis of 26 cases. JAMA. 1966 Jun 27;196(13):1107–1113. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sarosi G., Doe R. P. Familial occurrence of parathyroid adenomas, pheochromocytoma, and medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with amyloid stroma (Sipple's syndrome). Ann Intern Med. 1968 Jun;68(6):1305–1309. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-68-6-1305. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Schimke R. N., Hartmann W. H., Prout T. E., Rimoin D. L. Syndrome of bilateral pheochromocytoma, medullary thyroid carcinoma and multiple neuromas. A possible regulatory defect in the differentiation of chromaffin tissue. N Engl J Med. 1968 Jul 4;279(1):1–7. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196807042790101. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Steiner A. L., Goodman A. D., Powers S. R. Study of a kindred with pheochromocytoma, medullary thyroid carcinoma, hyperparathyroidism and Cushing's disease: multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 2. Medicine (Baltimore) 1968 Sep;47(5):371–409. doi: 10.1097/00005792-196809000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Tashijan A. H., Jr, Howland B. G., Melvin K. E., Hill C. S., Jr Immunoassay of human calcitonin. N Engl J Med. 1970 Oct 22;283(17):890–895. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197010222831702. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Urbanski F. X. Medullary thyroid carcinoma, parathyroid adenoma, and bilateral pheochromocytoma. An unusual triad of endocrine tumors. J Chronic Dis. 1967 Aug;20(8):627–636. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(67)90040-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weichert R. F., 3rd The neural ectodermal origin of the peptide-secreting endocrine glands. A unifying concept for the etiology of multiple endocrine adenomatosis and the inappropriate secretion of peptide hormones by nonendocrine tumors. Am J Med. 1970 Aug;49(2):232–241. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(70)80079-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Williams E. D., Brown C. L., Doniach I. Pathological and clinical findings in a series of 67 cases of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. J Clin Pathol. 1966 Mar;19(2):103–113. doi: 10.1136/jcp.19.2.103. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Williams E. D., Morales A. M., Horn R. C. Thyroid carcinoma and Cushing's syndrome. A report of two cases with a review of the common features of the "non-endocrine" tumours associated with Cushing's syndrome. J Clin Pathol. 1968 Mar;21(2):129–135. doi: 10.1136/jcp.21.2.129. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES