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Radiation was used to treat a variety of conditions of the head and neck during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. This treatment has since been linked to tumors of the thyroid, salivary glands, and other organs. A report from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago now indicates that hyperparathyroidism should be added to the list of potential late sequelae from radiation treatments.
The investigators followed 2923 patients who had received radiation to the tonsils before age 16, and found that 32 had developed clinical hyperparathyroidism -- a rate more than twice that expected in the general population. Thirty of the 32 patients had undergone parathyroid surgery, including 27 with single adenomas and three who had parathyroid hyperplasia or multiple …