Two hundred eighty-six cases of parathyroid carcinoma treated in the U.S. between 1985-1995

Abstract

At 5 years of follow-up, and possibly beyond, neither tumor size nor lymph node status were found to be significant prognostic factors and basing a staging system on them would be useless. Although complete, en bloc resection of all tumor represents the best opportunity for cure, a substantial proportion of patients fail to receive such treatment. The authors speculate that the rarity of this condition and late intraoperative recognition occasionally prevent optimal treatment. [See editorial on pages 378-80, this issue.]