[Secreting parathyroid carcinoma. Apropos of a case]

Parathyroid carcinoma is rare and hits diagnosis often difficult. A case is reported, remarkable by the age of the patient (17 years), and the main peculiarities of the disease are reviewed: frequency of complete bone syndrome, palpable tumour of the neck, calcemia more than 140 mg/l, occurrence of recurrent palsy; relapsing course, death being dependent on hypercalcemia rather than metastasis; median survival time about five years, non influenced by chemotherapy. Ultrastructural study, previously realized in about thirty cases, is specially evaluated: it seems able to concur on anatomopathologic diagnosis, when assertion of malignancy is difficult.