Prolonged zoledronic acid-induced hypocalcemia in hypercalcemia of malignancy

Shraddha Narechania; Nirosshan Thiruchelvam; Chetan Lokhande; Gaurav Kistangari; Hamed Daw

doi:10.12788/jcso.0166

Prolonged zoledronic acid-induced hypocalcemia in hypercalcemia of malignancy

J Community Support Oncol. 2015 Oct;13(10):374-7. doi: 10.12788/jcso.0166.

Authors

Shraddha Narechania¹, Nirosshan Thiruchelvam², Chetan Lokhande³, Gaurav Kistangari⁴, Hamed Daw⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Fairview Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. narechs@ccf.org.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Fairview Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
³ Outcomes Research, Fairview Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
⁴ Department of Hospital Medicine, Fairview Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
⁵ Department of Hematology and Oncology, Fairview Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

PMID: 26862913
DOI: 10.12788/jcso.0166

Abstract

Zoledronic acid is a parenteral long-acting bisphosphonate that has been shown to be more effective than other bisphosphonates in treating hypercalcemia of malignancy. It is important to be aware of its ability to induce prolonged and severe hypocalcemia (hypoCa) following administration, which can be difficult to control despite aggressive calcium replacement. We report on a patient with metastatic breast cancer who presented with severe symptomatic hypoCa after receiving zoledronic acid for hypercalcemia of malignancy.

Keywords: bisphosphonate; hypercalcemia; hypocalcemia; malignancy; zoledronic acid.