Archive | 2021
Uterine Carcinoma With Complex Reasons for Hypercalcemia: a Case Report and Review of the Literature
Abstract
\n Introduction: Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) is a seldom seen histological subtype of endometrial cancer with aggressive behavior and poor prognosis. Among current literatures, no one was found to be hormonally functional.Case presentation: We reported a rare case of endometrial LCNEC expressing both parathyroid hormone (PTH) and parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTH-rp). With ectopic PTH secreted into the blood stream, the hypercalcemia caused by malignant existence and osseous metastasis were concealed and misled initially. Literature review: Systematic literature search of previously reported uterine large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas and ectopic PTH-secreting neuroendocrine tumor (NET) cases were conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE databases respectively. We identified 55 cases of uterine LCNEC and 7 cases of PTH-secreting NET. Clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment and prognosis of all collected cases were summarized. Conclusion: Although quite rare, endometrial cancer can be functional and secret ectopic hormone, causing confusing clinical features. This case demonstrated the challenge in diagnosing malignancy-associated refractory hypercalcemia.