title: Humoral hypercalcemia due to an occult renal adenoma.
abstract: Humoral hypercalcemia refers to the elevated blood calcium levels caused by neoplasms which release a bone resorptive substance into the circulation. Previously reported infants with malignant and benign solid tumors causing humoral hypercalcemia have presented with large abdominal masses. The case we describe, a hypercalcemic infant due to an occult parathyroid hormone-related protein-containing metanephric adenoma of the kidney, shows that radionuclide bone scanning can be a useful test to identify humoral hypercalcemia. Humoral hypercalcemia stemming from a soft tissue neoplasm should be ruled out, even in the absence of clinical signs of a tumor, if bone scans show generalized uptake in the absence of hypervitaminosis D or radiological signs of bone lesions, and serum parathyroid hormone is low.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Children's Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cassady
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weinberger
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Winters
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Benjamin
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006934:Hypercalcemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed