The most common cause of excess hormone production (hyperparathyroidism) is the development of a benign tumor in one of the parathyroid glands. This enlargement of one parathyroid gland is called a parathyroid adenoma which accounts for about 70 percent of all patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (the other 30% will have more than one bad gland, see chart below). This out of control parathyroid gland is essentially never cancerous (virtually 100% of them are benign tumors), however, it slowly causes damage to the body because it induces an abnormally high level of calcium in the blood which can slowly destroy a number of tissues. Parathyroid adenomas typically are much bigger than the normal "grain-of-rice" parathyroid and will frequently be about the size of an olive or grape. Thus, the typical patient with hyperparathyroidism will be cured of the disease when this "olive" size tumor is removed. Up to 30% will have more than one tumor, so your surgeon should test to make sure the others are all good. People live Hyperparathyroidism: Typical Parathyroid Adenoma
Typical Parathyroid Adenoma Causing Hyperparathyroidism
just fine with less than four normal parathyroid glands that will be about the size of a grain of rice. The picture to the left is a picture of a typical parathyroid adenoma (parathyroid tumor) that causes hyperparathyroidism. This is a very average tumor size, shape, and color. Most people with hyperparathyroidism will have a tumor in their neck about this size, some will have two. Remember, the normal parathyroid gland is about the size of a grain of rice... but one cell inside this normal parathyroid gland went out of control and started reproducing itself until a large tumor developed. This tumor will almost always continue to grow until it is removed. As it grows, it makes more hormone and will make you feel worse. This tumor is constantly making parathyroid hormone which is what takes the calcium out of your bones and makes the calcium in your blood too high. (We have an entire page of photographs of parathyroid tumors so you can see what these little boogers look like!).
Where did this parathyroid tumor come from? This is a great question, and the answer is quite simple... In most cases we don't know WHY parathyroid tumors form. But this is HOW a parathyroid tumor forms: The normal parathyroid gland is made up of about 80,000 very small parathyroid cells. Each one is exposed to lots of blood flow and they all measure the calcium in the blood. When the calciu