Multiple endocrine adenomas in a patient with the Maffucci syndrome

A patient with multiple cutaneous hemangiomas and skeletal dyschondroplasia (the Maffucci syndrome) was found to have a pituitary chromophobe adenoma, a parathyroid adenoma and two other neoplasms. The presence of two endocrine tumors suggested the syndrome of multiple endocrine adenomatosis, and raised the issue of an etiologic relationship between this disease and the Maffucci syndrome. Dyschondroplasia, however, has no known influence on the secretion of parathyroid hormone or any of the pituitary hormones. The Maffucci syndrome is associated with a high incidence of malignancy, but it involves primarily mesodermal derivatives whereas multiple endocrine adenomatosis affects tissues of ectodermal origin. The association of the two in our patient is probably fortuitous.