Case series of diagnosis and surgery challenges in parathyroid carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is a rare malignancy that accounts for 1 % of cases of hyperparathyroidism. Data regarding PC in Indonesia are scarce, which poses challenges to diagnosis and treatment. This study aims to describe a series of PC cases from a tertiary health care center over 12 years. PRESENTATION OF CASES: Retrospective data of six patients with hyperparathyroidism diagnosed with PC between 2008 and 2020 were reviewed. Clinical presentation, diagnosis, management, and short-term outcomes of PC were analyzed. All six PC patients were diagnosed postoperatively. Four of the patients presented with symptomatic hypercalcemia, and two presented with neck swelling. Elevated serum parathyroid hormone was observed in five patients. Only two patients had imaging results corresponding to PC characteristics. Ipsilateral parathyroidectomies were performed on 5 patients where invasion and metastasis are not evident. Four frozen section samples suggested PC, and two suggested parathyroid adenoma. Further histopathologic examination confirmed a diagnosis of PC in all patients. No metastasis to the adjacent lymph nodes or distant target organs was found during surgery. DISCUSSION: Preoperative diagnosis of PC remains challenging. Suspicion of PC is appropriate in the presence of severe hypercalcemia, elevated parathyroid hormone level, and a mass observed either during imaging or intraoperatively. CONCLUSION: Ipsilateral parathyroidectomy seems to be feasible compared to total resection in order to preserve function and structure. Incomplete excision may lead to an increased risk of recurrence, emphasizing the importance of routinely following up on PC cases.

Forequarter amputation post transarterial chemoembolization and radiation in synovial sarcoma: A case report.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Forequarter amputation or interscapulathoracalis amputation is a major amputation procedure that involves the entire upper extremity, scapula, and a whole or part of the clavicula. Forequarter amputation is commonly used to control bleeding in malignant tumor cases in which no treatment is available for the extremities. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of forequarter amputation in a 25-year-old patient with synovial sarcoma. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiation synovial sarcoma were performed in the patient to reduce bleeding. This technique may also be used for treating synovial sarcoma with massive bleeding. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Despite forequarter amputation indications in malignant tumor cases and recurrent cancer cases, the effectiveness of this technique remains unclear. The patient was readmitted with a recurrent mass three months after surgery. CONCLUSION: In this study, TACE and radiotherapy are effective in controlling bleeding preoperatively and intraoperatively in patients with synovial sarcoma.