Prolonged Hypercalcemia Following Resection of Dysgerminoma : A Case Report

Abstract EN

Background.

Hypercalcemia is a rare but potentially dangerous complication of pediatric cancer.

Of the dysgerminoma cases reported to date, associated hypercalcemia is corrected within 2–7 days of tumor resection.

Case.

A 13-year-old female with an ovarian dysgerminoma was found to be hypercalcemic on presentation.

Following dysgerminoma resection, moderate hypercaclemia persisted for 7 days and calcium remained mildly elevated for an additional 7 days.

PTHrP was undetectable.

Immunolocalization studies indicated that 1α-hydroxylase was expressed in dysgerminoma tissue but 1,25(OH)2D3 was not elevated.

Conclusion.

Persistently elevated calcium levels following tumor resection suggests that this case involves a previously undescribed mechanism.

Elucidation of this mechanism may offer new insights into tumor biology and opportunities for therapeutic correction of hypercalcemia in this patient population.