Hypercalcemia Induced by Parathyroid Hormone-Related Peptide
Hypercalcemia Induced by Parathyroid Hormone-Related Peptide
Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is a rare cause of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. This paraneoplastic syndrome is usually one of the presenting symptoms of the disease. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity that presumably elaborated parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTH-rP) and caused hypercalcemia only after radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Hypercalcemia was recognized as the most common paraneoplastic syndrome as early as 1924. Initial studies implicated parathyroid hormone in the development of hypercalcemia. The exact role of parathyroid hormone in the development of hypercalcemia of malignancy was questioned in the early 1970s. The discovery of PTH-rP in 1987 by Mosley et al evoked interest in the mechanisms by which certain cancers cause hypercalcemia without necessarily metastasizing to the bone. Hypercalcemia of malignancy is thought to be due to the PTH-rP elaborated by the tumor cells in the advanced stage of the disease. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity that elaborated PTH-rP and caused hypercalcemia only after radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is a rare cause of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. This paraneoplastic syndrome is usually one of the presenting symptoms of the disease. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity that presumably elaborated parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTH-rP) and caused hypercalcemia only after radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Hypercalcemia was recognized as the most common paraneoplastic syndrome as early as 1924. Initial studies implicated parathyroid hormone in the development of hypercalcemia. The exact role of parathyroid hormone in the development of hypercalcemia of malignancy was questioned in the early 1970s. The discovery of PTH-rP in 1987 by Mosley et al evoked interest in the mechanisms by which certain cancers cause hypercalcemia without necessarily metastasizing to the bone. Hypercalcemia of malignancy is thought to be due to the PTH-rP elaborated by the tumor cells in the advanced stage of the disease. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity that elaborated PTH-rP and caused hypercalcemia only after radiotherapy and chemotherapy.