Tumor Lysis Syndrome after Tamoxifen Flare

Abstract

To the Editor: Tumor lysis syndrome develops rapidly after effective therapy of several malignant conditions and is characterized by the rapid death of neoplastic cells, leading to hyperuricemia, hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia, and hypocalcemia.¹ Tamoxifen flare consists of a transient increase in bone pain and hypercalcemia observed shortly after the initiation of tamoxifen therapy.² We report a case of tumor lysis syndrome that occurred within a few days after a tamoxifen flare in an elderly woman with osseous metastases of breast cancer.A 94-year-old woman was admitted to Eisenhower Memorial Hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, in January 1986 with mild bone pain. . . .