title: Unusual manifestation of intravascular large B-cell lymphoma: severe hypercalcemia with parathyroid hormone-related protein.
abstract: Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It usually presents with nonspecific symptoms, such as fever, rather than with overt lymphadenopathy. Reports of hypercalcemia, as the initial presentation of IVLBCL, are limited in the literature, despite it being a well-known complication of various solid cancers. We present a 68-year-old male with severe hypercalcemia and increased levels of serum parathyroid hormone-related protein. He was diagnosed with IVLBCL, involving the bone marrow and spleen, and was successfully treated with rituximab-containing chemotherapy. A few previous case reports have shown hypercalcemia in patients with IVLBCL. Much like our case, previous cases with hypercalcemia had advanced diseases, including bone marrow invasion. Although it was an extremely rare manifestation of IVLBCL, we suggest that IVLBCL should be a part of the differential diagnosis in patients with unexplained hypercalcemia. Therefore, an active work-up might be recommended, including positron emission tomography/ computed tomography scan and bone marrow examination, which may be useful for early diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Eun
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Woo Joo
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Sehyo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yune
authors.forename: Young Hyeh
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Joon Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Seok Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Won Seog
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kim