Mediastinum - Parathyroid carcinoma of thymus

Home Chapter Home Jobs Conferences Fellowships Books

Mediastinum

Thymic carcinoma

Parathyroid carcinoma of thymus

Reviewer: Hanni Gulwani, M.D. (see Reviewers page)
Revised: 3 March 2013, last major update December 2012
Copyright: (c) 2003-2013, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

General
=========================================================================

● May arise within thymus or adjacent soft tissue of anterosuperior mediastinum

Clinical features
=========================================================================

● Usually extreme hypercalcemia (> 14 mg/dl), markedly elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels

Poor prognostic factors
=========================================================================

● > 5 MF/HPF, thick fibrous capsule or infiltrative growth pattern

Case reports
=========================================================================

● 33 year old man with postoperative hungry bone syndrome (Endocr Pract 2003;9:152)
● Hemodialysis patient with unusual thymic involvement (J Laryngol Otol 2004;118:162)

Gross description
=========================================================================

● Resembles primary thymic carcinoma
● May invade adjacent lung, pericardium, thoracic great vessels
● Unencapsulated

Micro description
=========================================================================

● Modest to marked atypia
● Sheets, nests or cords of polyhedral cells with round/oval hyperchromatic nuclei, occasional nucleoli, clear/granular cytoplasm
● Focal mitotic activity, necrosis
● May have internal collagenous bands

Micro images
=========================================================================

Parathyroid carcinoma: site unknown

Positive stains
=========================================================================

● Diastase sensitive, PAS+, PTH (mosaic staining), variable chromogranin A or synaptophysin

Electron microscopy description
=========================================================================

● Primitive intercellular junctional complexes, prominent cytoplasmic glycogen, primitive blunt microvilli, sparse neurosecretory granules
● No tonofilaments

End of Mediastinum > Thymic carcinoma > Parathyroid carcinoma of thymus

This information is intended for physicians and related personnel, who understand that medical information is often imperfect, and must be interpreted in the context of a patient's clinical data using reasonable medical judgment. This website should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a licensed physician.

All information on this website is protected by copyright of PathologyOutlines.com, Inc. Information from third parties may also be protected by copyright. Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions (click here for other contact information).