Hypercalcemia Secondary to a Primary Hepatoma

Abstract

THE DIAGNOSTIC spectrum of hypercalcemia¹ has become increasingly complex since 1956 when Connor and associates² reported the subsidence of hypercalcemia after the resection of bronchogenic carcinoma in two patients. Subsequently, a wide variety of malignancies without skeletal involvement has been associated with hypercalcemia.^3,4 In many cases, as illustrated by this case report, death has resulted from hypercalcemia rather than from the invasive effects of the tumor. The separation of such cases from primary hyperparathyroidism is frequently the most difficult diagnostic problem in the hypercalcemic patient. The following is apparently the first case report of hypercalcemia secondary to a localized primary hepatoma. Report of a Case A 23-year-old white male beautician (UH-794-312) was transferred from a psychiatric hospital for the evaluation of hepatomegaly and somnolence on April 9, 1964. The patient had a six-year history of immoderate alcoholic ingestion and drank up to two pints of whisky per