Calcium status following neck radiation therapy in Hodgkin's disease

Substantial evidence links the development of primary hyperparathyroidism with a medical history of neck radiation therapy for benign disease. This report concerns 220 patients with Hodgkin's disease seen at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital, Houston, treated with neck irradiation. Serum calcium levels had been analyzed two to 22 years after radiotherapy. Hyperparathyroidism was confirmed at surgery in one patient with hypercalcemia 15 years after radiotherapy. However, the maximum follow-up was 22 years and in a reported series the mean interval between irradiation and the development of hyperparathyroidism has ranged from 29 to 47 years. We conclude that patients who have received neck radiation therapy for malignant disease are not at an increased risk for the development of hyperparathyroidism in the first two decades following treatment but should continue to be screened for this development in subsequent decades.