Brown tumors revealing primary hyperparathyroidism: It still exists

Abstract

Hyperparathyroidism is a frequent endocrinopathy, often diagnosed at the stage of subclinical hypercalcemia by systematic calcium measurement and the advent of new parathyroid hormone measurement techniques. Brown tumors represent a late-onset, locally aggressive but potentially benign non-metastatic bone complication secondary to an abnormality of bone metabolism within the context of hyperparathyroidism. It is usually a late complication, rarely revealing. We report 2 clinical cases of primary hyperparathyroidism revealed by a brown tumor, complicated in one case by a pathological fracture. The aim of our work is to underline the importance of looking for hyperparathyroidism in every lytic lesion, given the insidious nature of this endocrinopathy, thus preventing pathological fractures and improving functional quality of life.