Recovery of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia by sunitinib treatment for renal cell carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature


Karaca H., Lale A., Dikilitas M., ÖZKAN M., Er O.

MEDICAL ONCOLOGY, vol.27, no.3, pp.1023-1026, 2010 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 27 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2010
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s12032-009-9327-4
  • Journal Name: MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.1023-1026
  • Erciyes University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Sunitinib is a novel oral multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It has higher response rates and progression-free survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) when compared with standard chemotherapy and interferon-a. We report a case of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia, resistant to conventional treatment but recovers by sunitinib treatment as the first case in the literature, in a 33-years-old man with metastatic RCC. At the sixth month of follow-up period, in this case, serum calcium level was still in normal ranges. Besides sunitinib is effective in symptom control, it is also helpful in management of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia, a life-threatening entity.