title: Exocrine pancreatic cancer with humoral hypercalcemia.
abstract: Humoral hypercalcemia associated with malignancy has rarely been reported in exocrine pancreatic cancer. We report a patient with cancer of the exocrine pancreas who presented with hypercalcemia which did not respond to indomethacin. Her serum levels of parathyroid hormone and vitamin D derivatives were low. Technetium diphosphonate bone scan revealed no evidence of bone metastasis, a finding which was confirmed at autopsy. On light microscopy, histological classification of the tumor was moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. The electron microscopic study, however, revealed a few zymogen-like granules containing cancer cells lying between ductal-type cancer cells. A review of humoral hypercalcemia in cancer of the exocrine pancreas is presented. A humoral factor(s) other than parathyroid hormone, prostaglandin E, and vitamin D derivatives is considered responsible for hypercalcemia in this patient.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006934:Hypercalcemia / Q000209:etiology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D011458:Prostaglandins E / Q000097:blood; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D011458:Prostaglandins E; D014807:Vitamin D