EC Clinical and Medical Case Reports

Brown tumours are rare non-neoplastic osteolytic lesions that occur in the context of hyperparathyroidism. Parathyroid carcinoma is an extremely rare etiology of hyperparathyroidism, with an incidence of 0.74%.

 We report a 28-year-old woman operated for parathyroid carcinoma, who consulted 2 months later with diffuse bone pain. Complementary investigations revealed invasive osteolytic lesions of the bilateral iliacs and left clavicle, with hyperfixation on scintigraphy and hypercalcaemia. The diagnosis of malignant bone lesion was suggested, but pathological examination showed a brown tumour. After excluding a bone malignancy, the decision was taken to continue the treatment of hypercalcaemia and evolution was marked by regression of the bone lesions with normalisation of the calcaemia after 9 months.

This case highlights the importance of thinking about a brown tumour in the presence of an aggressive bone lesion mimicking a malignant lesion and evolving in the context of primary hyperparathyroidism to avoid needless intervention.

 Keywords: Brown Tumour; Metastasis; Hyperparathyroidism; Parathyroid Carcinoma; Scanner; Scintigraphy

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