Hodgkin's disease with hypercalcemia detected by thallium-201 scintigraphy

A 53-yr-old man with hypercalcemia was referred after an unsuccessful operative attempt to find a parathyroid adenoma. Metabolic evaluation showed relatively suppressed levels of parathyroid hormone with an elevation of serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Thallium-technetium dual isotope imaging revealed localized mediastinal thallium uptake. A vascular mediastinal lesion was then demonstrated by arteriography, with subsequent surgical removal of a mass that proved to be lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's disease. This case is noteworthy for the finding of isolated lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's disease in the chest, the association of elevated serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D with hypercalcemia that resolved postoperatively, and the uptake of thallium by the tumor.