Dataset Information

Severe hypercalcemia caused by parathyroid hormone in a rectal cancer metastasis: a case report.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hypercalcemia of malignancy is relatively common in several cancers. However, in colorectal cancer, paraneoplastic phenomena that cause hypercalcemia is uncommon. In the few cases that are reported, secretion of parathyroid hormone-related peptide mediates the effect. We describe the first case of severe hypercalcemia mediated by intact parathyroid hormone secretion from a bone metastasis of colorectal origin. This was a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

Case presentation

A 68-year-old male treated for rectal adenocarcinoma 10?years earlier developed a bone metastasis. After initial treatment of the metastasis with surgery and irradiation, he developed a relapse with severe hypercalcemia and corresponding elevated parathyroid hormone levels. The workup showed no signs of parathyroid adenomas, but the metastasis produced intact parathyroid hormone. The hypercalcemia was successfully treated by irradiation and osteoclast inhibitor, and the patient received chemotherapy. Survival was 24?months from the onset of hypercalcemia.

Conclusions

Proper diagnosis of the uncommon endocrine disturbance allowed targeted therapy and avoidance of neck exploration for wrongly suspecting primary hyperparathyroidism. Intact parathyroid hormone should be measured in cases of malignant hypercalcemia.

SUBMITTER: Brun VH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7792014 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Severe hypercalcemia caused by parathyroid hormone in a rectal cancer metastasis: a case report.

Brun Vegard Heimly VH Knutsen Erik E Stenvold Helge H Halvorsen Hanne H

BMC endocrine disorders 20210107 1

<h4>Background</h4>Hypercalcemia of malignancy is relatively common in several cancers. However, in colorectal cancer, paraneoplastic phenomena that cause hypercalcemia is uncommon. In the few cases that are reported, secretion of parathyroid hormone-related peptide mediates the effect. We describe the first case of severe hypercalcemia mediated by intact parathyroid hormone secretion from a bone metastasis of colorectal origin. This was a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.<h4>Case presentati ...[more]

PMID: 33413267

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Project description:BackgroundHeterotopic ossification (HO) is the formation of osseous tissue outside the skeleton. HO in malignant tumors of the digestive tract is extremely rare, as is ossification in metastatic lesions from HO-negative digestive tract tumors. Regarding the pathogenesis of HO, two theories have been proposed. The first is that the osteoblastic metaplasia of tumor cells (driven by the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, EMT) results in HO, and the second is that factors secreted by cancer cells lead to the metaplasia of stromal pluripotent cells into osteoblasts. However, the osteogenic mechanisms remain unclear.Case presentationAn 83-year-old Japanese woman underwent low anterior rectal resection for rectal cancer before presentation at our institution, in June 2018. The final diagnosis was stage IIB rectal adenocarcinoma (T4aN0M0). Histological examination did not reveal HO in the primary tumor. Thirteen months after the operation, a solitary metastatic lesion in the brain 20?mm in size and a solitary metastatic lesion in a right axillary lymph node 20?mm in size were diagnosed. The patient was treated with gamma-knife therapy for the brain metastasis. One month later, she was referred to our institution. She underwent lymph node resection. Histological examination revealed that most portions of the affected lymph node were occupied by metastatic tumor cells and that central necrosis and four small ossified lesions without an osteoblast-like cell rim were present in the peripheral region. Immunohistochemical analysis showed tumor cells positive for BMP-2, osteonectin, osteocalcin, AE1/AE3, TGF-?1, Gli2, Smad2/3, and CDX2 and negative for nestin, CD56, and CK7.ConclusionThis is the first English case report of HO in a metachronous metastatic lymph node after the curative resection of HO-negative rectal cancer. Unlike HO lesions in past reports, the HO lesion did not show peripheral osteoblast-like cells, and the immunohistochemical findings indicated that the present case resulted from the EMT.

Dataset Information

Severe hypercalcemia caused by parathyroid hormone in a rectal cancer metastasis: a case report.

Background

Case presentation

Conclusions

Publications

Severe hypercalcemia caused by parathyroid hormone in a rectal cancer metastasis: a case report.

Similar Datasets

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