Long-term administration of calcitonin for hypercalcemia secondary to recurrent parathyroid carcinoma

Abstract

A patient with hypercalcemia secondary to recurrent parathyroid carcinoma was treated for 44 days with intramuscular and intravenous injections of porcine calcitonin and on day 45 with synthetic salmon calcitonin. There was no sustained control of serum calcium during this period, but the concentration decreased transiently with intravenous administration of both types of calcitonin.No serial measurements of serum calcium were made following intramuscular administration; therefore, it is not known whether this route of administration produced similar results. Dosage and route of administration of calcitonin warrant further investigation in controlling hypercalcemia secondary to parathyroid hormone excess. No dzerence in the degree or duration of decreasing the serum calcium concentration was noted following comparable doses of intravenous infusions of porcine calcitonin and of synthetic salmon calcitonin on separate days. Parathyroid hormone levels measured during the infusion of synthetic salmon calcitonin remained elevated at essentially the same level before and after the infusion. A steady decline in urinary phosphorous excretion during the treatment period could not be explained with certainty. HE TREATMENT OF HYPERCALCEMIA PRO-T duced by hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue, be it hyperplasia, adenoma, or carcinoma, is surgical removal of such tissue. Excision of functioning metastatic and recurrent parathyroid carcinoma is also recommended since control of hypercalcemia can be achieved.6 Multiple cervical recurrence is characteristic with this tumor, but frequently it is not possible for the surgeon to locate

Parathyroid carcinoma: A clinical study of seven cases of functioning and two cases of nonfunctioning parathyroid cancer

“…At other times, these drugs have been minimally helpful or ineffective. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]43,44 More conventional treatment of hypercalcemia with saline and furosemide or phosphates, intravenously or orally, has generally resulted in very transient results. Surgical intervention is often necessary in the effort to control hypercalcemia.…”

Parathyroid Carcinoma: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment

“…Case reports of parathyroid cancer patients treated with clodronate [64, 65], pamidronate [66, 67], and zoledronate [68] have been published. Other pharmacologic therapies used for severe hypercalcemia include synthetic estrogen [69], calcitonin [70], mithramycin [71], and gallium nitrate [72].…”

Drugs for the treatment of hypercalcaemia

“…Other patients have shown very modest responses to calcitonin (Sorensen et al, 1970;Cochran et al, 1970;Hill, Ouais and Leiser, 1972). In the hypercalcaemia of vitamin D intoxication a good, though slow, response to calcitonin was found in three patients by Buckle et al (1972) although saline infusions may also have contributed to the improvement.…”