TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Surgery
Source: Parathyroid Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: March 7, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Treatment Option Overview / The following types of treatment are used:
Surgery (removing the cancer in an operation) is the most common treatment for parathyroid cancer that is in the parathyroid glands or has spread to other parts of the body. Because parathyroid cancer grows very slowly, cancer that has spread to other parts of the body may be removed by surgery in order to cure the patient or control the effects of the disease for a long time. Before surgery, treatment is given to control hypercalcemia.
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The following surgical procedures may be used:
En bloc resection: Surgery to remove the entire parathyroid gland and the capsule around it. Sometimes lymph nodes, half of the thyroid gland on the same side of the body as the cancer, and muscles, tissues, and a nerve in the neck are also removed.
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Tumor debulking: A surgical procedure in which as much of the tumor as possible is removed. Some tumors cannot be completely removed.
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Metastasectomy: Surgery to remove any cancer that has spread to distant organs such as the lung.
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Surgery for parathyroid cancer sometimes damages nerves of the vocal cords. There are treatments to help with speech problems caused by this nerve damage.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice