What is parathyroid cancer?
Parathyroid cancer starts in the cells of a parathyroid gland. The parathyroid glands are in your neck, on or close to the thyroid. They help control the amount of calcium in your blood by making a hormone called parathyroid hormone (PTH).
Cells in a parathyroid gland sometimes change and no longer grow or behave normally. These changes may lead to non-cancerous conditions such as parathyroid hyperplasia. They can also lead to non-cancerous tumours such as a parathyroid adenoma.
But in some cases, changes to the cells of a parathyroid gland can cause cancer. A cancerous (malignant) tumour is a group of cancer cells that can grow into nearby tissue and destroy it. The tumour can also spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Parathyroid cancer is a very rare type of cancer. It is also called parathyroid carcinoma.
The parathyroid glands
Conditions and tumours of the parathyroid glands
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