Simultaneous elevation of serum parathyroid hormone(PTH) and parathyroid hormone-related protein(PTHrP) in a case of lung cancer with hypercalcemia / 결핵

ABSTRACT

The parathyroid hormone related protein(PTHrP) is the most common causative peptide of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. In contrast, the serum level of parathyroid hormone(PTH) is low to undetectable in the majority of patients with malignancy associated hypercalcemia. Few cases exist in which the production and secretion of PTH by malignant nonparathyroid tumors have been authenticated. To our knowledge, there is very rare case in which a nonparathyroid tumor expressed simultaneously both the PTH and PTHrP. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung with hypercalcemia which presented with simultaneous elevation of serum PTH and PTHrP. Severe hypercalcemia (serum calcium, 7.5mEq/L) was found in a 65-year-old man who had a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung without any body metastasis and detectable parathyroid abnormalities on isotope scintigraphy. The serum level of intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration was markedly elevated as measured in two site radioimmunoreactive PTH assays (intact PTH 150pg/mL ; normal 9~55). The serum level of a PTHrP was also increased as measured in C-terminal region specific radioimmunoassay (PTHrP 99.1 pmol/L ; normal 13.8~55.3). There are no evidences of coincidental primary hyperparathyroidism in parathyroid MIBI scan and other imaging studies including neck ultrasonography and computed tomography. These results suggest that simultaneous elevation of serum PTH and PTHrP in this patient can be caused by production of both PTHrP and PTH in other nonparathyroid lesions such as squamous cell carcinoma.