A case of squamous cell lung carcinoma with high concentration of parathyroid hormone-related peptide in serum and pleural effusion presenting hypercalcemia.

A 57-year-old man with lung squamous cell carcinoma revealed hypercalcemia, hypophosphoremia, elevation of nephrogenous cAMP and metabolic alkalosis. Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations were not elevated. These findings were consistent with those in humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM). PTH-related peptide (PTHrP) concentrations were determined using N- and C-terminal specific radioimmunoassays (PTHrP-N, PTHrP-C), and elevation of both PTHrP-N and PTHrP-C concentrations in the serum was noted (PTHrP-N, 27 pmol/liter (normal < 5); PTHrP-C, 1408 pmol/liter (normal < 50)). High concentration of PTHrP (946 pmol/liter for PTHrP-N and 5983 pmol/liter for PTHrP-C) was also found in the pleural fluid obtained at autopsy. Immunohistochemical study, using paraffin-embedded sections of the tumor tissue obtained at autopsy, revealed numerous PTHrP-positive cells and expression of PTHrP gene was confirmed by Northern blot analysis. These findings indicate that PTHrP, produced in the tumor tissue, was secreted into the blood stream, which caused HHM in the patient. Gel permeation chromatography of the serum and pleural fluid revealed several peaks of both PTHrP-N and PTHrP-C. Molecular forms of PTHrP-N were larger than those of PTHrP-C in the serum as well as pleural fluid. These findings indicate that multiple forms of PTHrP molecules are present in the serum and pleural fluid. Granulocytosis was also noted in the patient. However, granulocyte- and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor were not detected in the serum, and the mechanism of the granulocytosis in the patient was unclear.