Hypercalcemia and neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate: a report of three cases and a review of the literature.

Abstract

PURPOSE Hypercalcemia is a rare complication of prostate cancer, and no definite association with any histologic subtype of prostatic malignancy has been documented. We have recently seen three patients who developed hypercalcemia in the setting of prostate cancer. All had neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate (NCPs), which prompted an exploration of the potential association of hypercalcemia with NCP. DESIGN An extensive review of literature published in the English-language was conducted to identify cases of hypercalcemia associated with prostate cancer and well-documented cases of NCP. RESULTS We found 17 reported cases of hypercalcemia clearly associated with prostate cancer and a total of 61 cases of well-documented NCP. Including our cases, 11 of the 20 reported cases of hypercalcemia associated with prostate carcinoma were in patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas. CONCLUSION Hypercalcemia in the setting of prostate cancer should prompt a search for unusual histologies.