A case of mediastinal parathyroid cyst:

Review of 133 cases of mediastinal parathyroid cyst in the literature

Abstract

A 55-year-old female experienced chest discomfort. Chest radiography and computed tomography showed a large homogenous tumor, 80 mm in diameter, in the middle mediastinum compressing the trachea and left lobe of the thyroid gland. The tumor was successfully resected via a cervical approach. Histologically, parathyroid tissue was seen in the cyst wall, and values of parathyroid hormone (PTH), intact-PTH, and PTHrP in the fluid were very high, without elevations of their values in the serum. An Internet search was conducted, and 133 cases of mediastinal parathyroid cyst were found in the literature. Fifty-nine percent of tumors were non-functional, and 23% were located in the middle mediastinum. Although a cervical approach has rarely been applied to the tumor in the middle mediastinum, this approach could be a surgical option for patients without local symptoms.