Using the Korea National Health Insurance Service database, the authors identified 296 incident parathyroid carcinomas and 6,837 cases of benign primary hyperparathyroidism against 71,330 age- and sex-matched controls. Annual incidence rose 5.0-fold for the carcinoma and 7.7-fold for the benign disease, so the carcinoma share of all primary hyperparathyroidism fell from 6.67% to 4.06%. Ten-year all-cause mortality was higher in both groups, with modestly raised atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Why it is interesting: A rare cancer rising alongside a faster rise in its benign counterpart, with an excess mortality signal attaching to the benign condition too.