Successful Treatment of Tumoral Calcinosis by Lanthanum Carbonate

Intern Med. 2018 Dec 15;57(24):3589-3591. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.0975-18. Epub 2018 Aug 24.

Abstract

Tumoral calcinosis (TC) is a rare benign but aggressive disorder with variable response rates and high recurrence rates despite medical or surgical treatments. We herein report a case of a 28-year-old woman with underlying systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who developed diffuse tumoral calcinosis that was successfully treated by lanthanum carbonate. The formation of tumoral calcinosis depends on the supersaturation of calcium and phosphate. Lanthanum carbonate not only has an excellent phosphate-lowering ability but also low gastro-intestinal calcium absorption. It can be considered an effective alternative treatment for tumoral calcinosis if surgical treatment is not feasible.

Keywords: lanthanum carbonate; tumoral calcinosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Calcinosis / blood
  • Calcinosis / complications
  • Calcinosis / diet therapy
  • Calcinosis / drug therapy*
  • Calcium / blood
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Absorption
  • Humans
  • Lanthanum / blood
  • Lanthanum / therapeutic use*
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / complications
  • Phosphates / blood
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Phosphates
  • lanthanum carbonate
  • Lanthanum
  • Calcium