FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 318:658-662 March 17, 1988 Number 11 Next

	Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited PubMed Citation

Abstract

Previous work based on the relative tissue content of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase isoenzymes suggested that parathyroid adenomas, like primary hyperplasia, may be multicellular (not clonal) in origin. We have reexamined this issue by using two independent molecular genetic methods. We report tumor-cell-specific restriction-fragment-length alterations involving the parathyroid hormone gene from two human parathyroid adenomas. These abnormal restriction fragments indicate that in each case a clonal proliferation of cells was present and also suggest that DNA alterations involving the parathyroid hormone locus may be important in the tumorigenesis or clonal evolution of some parathyroid adenomas. In addition, we used a restriction-fragment-length polymorphism in an X-linked gene (hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase) to examine the clonality of eight parathyroid adenomas in women. Of these eight adenomas, six had the DNA hybridization pattern of monoclonality, and two had an equivocal pattern. None of five hyperplastic parathyroid glands had a monoclonal pattern. We conclude that some (and perhaps many) single parathyroid adenomas are monoclonal neoplasms. Our observations suggest that there is a fundamental biologic difference between parathyroid adenomas and primary hyperplasia--a difference that could prove useful in distinguishing these entities clinically.

Source Information

Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• VanHouten, J. N., Yu, N., Rimm, D., Dotto, J., Arnold, A., Wysolmerski, J. J., Udelsman, R. (2006). Hypercalcemia of Malignancy due to Ectopic Transactivation of the Parathyroid Hormone Gene. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 91: 580-583 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shattuck, T. M., Westra, W. H., Ladenson, P. W., Arnold, A. (2005). Independent Clonal Origins of Distinct Tumor Foci in Multifocal Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. NEJM 352: 2406-2412 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Parfitt, A. M. (2005). Weight of Normal Parathyroid Glands in Patients with Parathyroid Adenomas. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 90: 595-595 [Full Text]  
• Mallya, S. M., Gallagher, J. J., Arnold, A. (2003). Analysis of Microsatellite Instability in Sporadic Parathyroid Adenomas. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 88: 1248-1251 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dahan, M., Chang, R. J. (2001). Pancreatitis Secondary to Hyperparathyroidism During Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol 98: 923-925 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hemmer, S., Wasenius, V.-M., Haglund, C., Zhu, Y., Knuutila, S., Franssila, K., Joensuu, H. (2001). Deletion of 11q23 and Cyclin D1 Overexpression Are Frequent Aberrations in Parathyroid Adenomas. Am. J. Pathol. 158: 1355-1362 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chung, D. C., Brown, S. B., Graeme-Cook, F., Seto, M., Warshaw, A. L., Jensen, R. T., Arnold, A. (2000). Overexpression of Cyclin D1 Occurs Frequently in Human Pancreatic Endocrine Tumors. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 85: 4373-4378 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Mihai, R., Farndon, J. R. (2000). Parathyroid disease and calcium metabolism. Br J Anaesth 85: 29-43 [Full Text]  
• Sarquis, M., Friedman, E., Boson, W. L., Gomez, R. S., Dias, A. F., De Marco, L. (2000). Microsatellite Instability in Sporadic Parathyroid Adenoma. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 85: 250-252 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Farnebo, F., Teh, B. T., Kytölä, S., Svensson, A., Phelan, C., Sandelin, K., Thompson, N. W., Höög, A., Weber, G., Farnebo, L.-O., Larsson, C. (1998). Alterations of the MEN1 Gene in Sporadic Parathyroid Tumors. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 83: 2627-2630 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Carling, T., Correa, P., Hessman, O., Hedberg, J., Skogseid, B., Lindberg, D., Rastad, J., Westin, G., Åkerström, G. (1998). Parathyroid MEN1 Gene Mutations in Relation to Clinical Characteristics of Nonfamilial Primary Hyperparathyroidism. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 83: 2960-2963 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Cotter, F. E, Pritchard, J. (1995). Clonality in Langerhans' cell histiocytosis. BMJ 310: 74-75 [Full Text]  
• Cryns, V. L., Thor, A., Xu, H.-J., Hu, S.-X., Wierman, M. E., Vickery, A. L., Benedict, W. F., Arnold, A. (1994). Loss of The Retinoblastoma Tumor-Suppressor Gene in Parathyroid Carcinoma. NEJM 330: 757-761 [Abstract] [Full Text]