Cancer Management and Research (Apr 2022)
Severe Hypercalcemia as an Initial Presentation of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Case Report
Abstract
Ahmed Muhammad Bashir,1 Abdirashid Hashi Mohamed,1 Hawa Nuradin Mohamed,1 Ismail Gedi Ibrahim2 1Internal Medicine Department, Mogadishu Somali Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Training and Research Hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia; 2Radiology Department, Mogadishu Somali Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Training and Research Hospital, Mogadishu, SomaliaCorrespondence: Ahmed Muhammad Bashir, Internal Medicine Department, Mogadishu Somali Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Training and Research Hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia, Email [email protected]: It is extremely rare for hypercalcemia to appear as the first symptom of hepatocellular carcinoma. Instead, it occurs primarily as a paraneoplastic manifestation after the disease is already diagnosed.Methods: In this report, we describe a 55-year-old woman who presented with symptoms of acute severe hypercalcemia and was negative for hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C virus antibodies.Results: Laboratory tests confirmed hypercalcemia (serum calcium 16.2 mg/dL) with intact parathyroid hormone (2 pg/mL). Alpha-fetoprotein serum level was 3031.14 ng/mL. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a big vascularized mass of 7 × 5.5cm in diameter, occupying most of the right lobe of the liver.Conclusion: Based on these findings, hepatocellular carcinoma may present late in disease progression with isolated hypercalcemia; therefore, HCC should be considered in the differential diagnosis in a hypercalcemic patient.Keywords: hypercalcemia, hepatocellular carcinoma, Somalia
