Giannetta E, Sesti F, Modica R, Grossrubatscher EM, Ragni A, Zanata I, Colao A, Faggiano A. What Lies behind Paraneoplastic Hypercalcemia Secondary to Well-Differentiated Neuroendocrine Neoplasms? A Systematic Review of the Literature.
J Pers Med 2022;
12:1553. [PMID:
36294693 PMCID:
PMC9604936 DOI:
10.3390/jpm12101553]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN) originate from neuroendocrine cells ubiquitously spread throughout the body. Hypercalcemia associated with cancer is the most common life-threatening metabolic disorder in patients with advanced stage cancer. Paraneoplastic hypercalcemia is more commonly associated with hematological malignancies, renal and breast carcinomas, and squamous cell carcinomas, but it has also been described in patients with well-differentiated NEN, where it often remains undiagnosed. Among its causes, systemic secretion of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) and ectopic production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) may be considered paraneoplastic causes of hypercalcemia. In order to clarify the diagnostic work up of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia in patients with NEN, we perform a systematic review, which is lacking in the literature.
METHODS
We performed a data search using MEDLINE and SCOPUS including papers from 1961 to 2021. We selected articles on paraneoplastic hypercalcemia associated with well-differentiated NEN.
RESULTS
The search led to the selection of 78 publications for a total of 114 patients. Pooled data showed that the most frequent primary tumor site associated with paraneoplastic hypercalcemia was pancreatic NEN, followed by Pheochromocytoma. In most cases, paraneoplastic hypercalcemia was caused by PTHrP production and secretion. In more than two thirds of cases, paraneoplastic hypercalcemia was present at the time of NEN diagnosis and, in metachronous cases, was related to local recurrence, distant metastasis development, or tumor progression. In most patients, a combination of therapeutic approaches was employed, and reduction of the tumor burden was essential to control the paraneoplastic syndrome.
DISCUSSION
The onset of hypercalcemia associated with cancer in patients with well-differentiated NEN represents a major clinical challenge. The complex clinical and therapeutical management of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia implies the need for a multidisciplinary approach, aimed at controlling the clinical syndrome and tumor growth.
Collapse