Unusual behaviour of an unusual tumour: calcitriol-induced hypercalcaemia in metastatic oesophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma. Issue 8 (25th August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ionescu, Filip; Petrescu, Ioana; Marin, Maria
• Is Part Of: BMJ case reports. Volume 13:Issue 8(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-08-25
• Subjects: calcium and bone -- oesophageal cancer; Medicine -- Case studies -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2020-235209
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-790X

Abstract

Abstract : Hypercalcaemia in malignancy is most commonly caused by paraneoplastic secretion of parathyroid hormone-related protein or osteolytic metastases. Very rarely (<1% of cases), the mechanism behind increased serum calcium is increased production of calcitriol (1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D) and even rarer is the occurrence of this phenomenon in solid malignancies, with few such instances reported in the literature. We present a case of a neuroendocrine malignancy originating in the oesophagus associated with calcitriol-induced hypercalcaemia, a phenomenon that has not been previously described. We review the pathophysiology of calcitriol-induced hypercalcaemia and previously reported cases of solid tumours with this presentation.