48-Year clinical experience and genetic analysis of pediatric primary hyperparathyroidism from a single center in China.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the clinical and genetic features and change of clinical spectrum of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) in children and adolescents.

Methods: The clinical and follow-up data of 74 pediatric patients (onset age ≤ 18 years) with PHPT during 1975-2022 were retrospectively analyzed. For comparison, patients were divided into four subgroups according to their time of diagnosis. Genetic analysis was conducted in 40 patients.

Results: Pediatric PHPT cases increased largely over time [34 cases (45.9%) in 2015-2022]. The rate of asymptomatic PHPT increased by time (14.7% in 2015-2022 vs. 0% before 2015), in accordance with routine screening of serum calcium becoming a more frequent reason for clinic visit (17.6% in 2015-2022 vs. 0% before 2015). Skeletal manifestation significantly decreased in recent years (64.7% in 2015-2022 vs. 100.0% in 1975-1994, P < 0.05). Sixty-seven patients (90.5%) of the whole cohort underwent parathyroidectomy. Atypical parathyroid adenoma and parathyroid carcinoma occurred in 13.4% and 4.5% of the surgical cases, respectively. Recurrence and persistence of PHPT were observed in 17.9% of postsurgical patients. Germline rare variations (RVs) of PHPT-related genes were found in 42.5% (17/40) of all cases with genetic testing. Compared with no-variation group, the variation group had higher incidence of multiple parathyroid lesions (42.8% vs. 4.3%, P = 0.014), and lower rate of benign lesions and higher rate of recurrence and persistence.

Conclusion: Milder cases of Pediatric PHPT are coming to clinical attention probably due to routine lab testing. Genetic testing is recommended for pediatric PHPT patients.