Abstract
Backgound: We report a very rare case of parathyroid carcinoma, cytologically compared to other neck tumors arising from the parathyroid and thyroid.
Case: A 49-year-old woman with an anterior neck tumor had, since 4 years earlie, undergone hemodialysis, with parathyroidectomy and autotransplantation of hyperplastic parathyroid tissue. Three years late, a 12×14×5cm recurrent tumor became palpable. A parathyroid tumor was suspected cytologically but we could not decide whether it was malignant or benign.
Needle aspiration cytology showed sheet-like cell clusters with minimal nuclear atypia, so it was difficult to definitively diagnose parathyroid carcinoma with the cytological study alone.
The histological diagnosis was parathyroid carcinoma arising from autotransplanted hyperplastic parathyroid tissue.
Comlusions: Despite the lack of cytological diagnosis of parathyroid diseases containing hyperplasia and neoplasia, we should suspect these if clinical and endocrinological findings are positive when screening specimens from the cervical region.
