Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare disease and accounts for less than 1% of all cases of primary hyperparathyroidism. Many times, parathyroid carcinoma is detected only after surgery. Parathyroid carcinoma as a cause of acute pancreatitis is uncommon. We report this case of acute severe pancreatitis associated with parathyroid carcinoma. Hypercalcemia was found during workup for acute pancreatitis which was due to primary hyperparathyroidism. During surgery, there was a suspicion of parathyroid carcinoma and en bloc resection was done followed by adjuvant radiation therapy. It is important to treat the precipitating factor for acute pancreatitis. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for parathyroid carcinoma.
© Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.