Case Report
A Rare Presentation of Primary Hyperparathyroidism with
Concurrent Aldosterone-Producing Adrenal Carcinoma
Mario Molina-Ayala,
1
Claudia Ramírez-Rentería,
2
Analleli Manguilar-León,
1
Pedro Paúl-Gaytán,
1
and Aldo Ferreira-Hermosillo
1
1
Endocrinology Department, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro M´ edico Nacional Siglo XXI, IMSS, Cuauht´ emoc 330,
Colonia Doctores, 06720 Mexico City, DF, Mexico
2
Experimental Endocrinology Investigation Unit, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro M´ edico Nacional Siglo XXI, IMSS,
Cuauht´ emoc 330, Colonia Doctores, 06720 Mexico City, DF, Mexico
Correspondence should be addressed to Aldo Ferreira-Hermosillo; aldo.nagisa@gmail.com
Received 2 March 2015; Revised 5 June 2015; Accepted 9 June 2015
Academic Editor: Carlo Capella
Copyright © 2015 Mario Molina-Ayala et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Aldosterone-producing adrenocortical carcinomas are an extremely rare cause of hyperaldosteronism (<1%). Coexistence of
diferent endocrine tumors warrants additional screening for multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes, especially in young patients
with large or malignant masses. We present the case of a 40-year-old man with a history of hypertension that presented with
an incidental let adrenal tumor during an ultrasound performed for nephrolithiasis. Biochemical assessment showed a mildly
elevated calcium (11.1mg/dL), high parathyroid hormone, and a plasma aldosterone concentration/plasma renin activity ratio of
124.5 (normal < 30), compatible with primary hyperparathyroidism with a concomitant primary hyperaldosteronism. A Tc99m-
MIBI scintigraphy showed an abnormally increased tracer uptake in the right superior parathyroid and abdominal computed
tomography conirmed a let adrenal tumor of 20 cm. he patient underwent parathyroidectomy and adrenalectomy with inal
pathology reports of parathyroid hyperplasia and adrenal carcinoma with biochemical remission of both endocrinopathies. He
was started on chemotherapy, but the patient developed a frontal cortex and an arm metastasis and inally died less than one year
later.
1. Introduction
Primary hyperparathyroidism due to multiple gland hyper-
plasia is the most common presentation of parathyroid
disease in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type
1 (MEN1), which also includes pituitary tumors (mostly
prolactinomas) and tumors in endocrine pancreas and duo-
denum. However, other gastroenteropancreatic neuroen-
docrine tumors, adrenocortical adenomas, or thyroid nod-
ules can occur in MEN1 [1]. Almost 50% of MEN1 patients
could develop adrenal adenomas or hyperplasia, which are
mainly nonfunctioning and benign [2]. Adrenocortical car-
cinomas (ACC) are rare manifestations of MEN1 with an
incidence of 6% according to Waldmann et al. [2]. In fact, less
than 1% of ACC produce aldosterone, cortisol, or androgens.
Aldosterone-producing adrenocortical carcinomas (APAC)
are infrequent but are highly aggressive and recurrent [3] and
could evolve from initially small and clinically nonfunctional
adenomas.
he purpose of this paper is to report an unusual
association of primary hyperparathyroidism with an APAC
that supports the need for extensive endocrinological assess-
ments in patients with adrenal carcinomas and any atypical
presentation of neuroendocrine disease.
2. Case Report
A 40-year-old man presented with a 4-year history of hyper-
tension treated with aldosterone receptor antagonist (ARA2)
and in 2008 a let lithotripsy. He had a family history of
type 2 diabetes and cancer (type not speciied). He presented
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Endocrinology
Volume 2015, Article ID 910984, 5 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/910984