Primary combined hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and neuroendocrine carcinoma is a rare entity, and so is hypercalcemia due to ectopic parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion by tumor. A 44-year old man with hepatitis B virus associated chronic liver disease presented with a hepatic mass. Hemihepatectomy discovered the mass as combined HCC and poorly differentiated cholangiocarcinoma. During adjuvant chemoradiation therapy, he presented with nausea, and multiple systemic metastases were found. Laboratory tests revealed hypercalcemia with markedly elevated PTH and neuron specific enolase. Parathyroid scan showed normal uptake in parathyroid glands, suggestive of ectopic PTH secretion. Subsequently, immunohistochemistry of neuroendocrine marker was performed on the primary lesion, and confirmed the neuroendocrine differentiation in non-HCC component. The patient died 71 days after surgery. This report may suggest the possibility of ectopic PTH secretion by neuroendocrine carcinoma of hepatic origin causing hypercalcemia. Caution for neuroendocrine differentiation should be exercised when diagnosing poorly differentiated HCC.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Case report: mixed large-cell neuroendocrine and hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver Xin Gao, Heng Wang, Zheyu Niu, Meng Liu, Xiaohan Kong, Hongrui Sun, Chaoqun Ma, Huaqiang Zhu, Jun Lu, Xu Zhou Frontiers in Oncology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Mixed glandular neuroendocrine carcinoma of the endometrium with hypercalcemic crisis Mei Luo, Xiaoxia Yu, Zhongpei Chen, Zhenhan Li The American Journal of the Medical Sciences.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Mixed Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Hepatic Neuroendocrine Carcinoma: Case Report and Literature Review Woo Young Shin, Keon Young Lee, Kyeong Deok Kim Medicina.2023; 59(2): 418. CrossRef
Comparison of Metastatic Patterns Among Neuroendocrine Tumors, Neuroendocrine Carcinomas, and Nonneuroendocrine Carcinomas of Various Primary Organs Hyung Kyu Park, Ghee Young Kwon Journal of Korean Medical Science.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Immunohistochemical characterization of a steroid-secreting oncocytic adrenal carcinoma responsible for paraneoplastic hyperparathyroidism Magalie Haissaguerre, Estelle Louiset, Christofer C Juhlin, Adam Stenman, Christophe Laurent, Hélène Trouette, Hervé Lefebvre, Antoine Tabarin European Journal of Endocrinology.2023; 188(4): K11. CrossRef
Neuroendocrine neoplasms of the biliary tree, liver and pancreas: a pathological approach Claudio Luchini, Giuseppe Pelosi, Aldo Scarpa, Paola Mattiolo, Deborah Marchiori, Roberta Maragliano, Fausto Sessa, Silvia Uccella Pathologica.2021; 113(1): 28. CrossRef
Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Findings of Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Neuroendocrine Carcinoma: A Case Report Hong Wang, Dan Yang, Zhenru Wu, Yan Luo, Wenwu Ling Frontiers in Medicine.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Combined primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma: case report and literature review Akira Nakano, Kenichi Hirabayashi, Hiroshi Yamamuro, Taro Mashiko, Yoshihito Masuoka, Seiichiro Yamamoto, Soji Ozawa, Toshio Nakagohri World Journal of Surgical Oncology.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with renal dysfunction: Pathophysiology, prognosis, and treatment challenges Hsuan Yeh, Chung-Cheng Chiang, Tzung-Hai Yen World Journal of Gastroenterology.2021; 27(26): 4104. CrossRef
Severe hypercalcaemia from ectopic intact parathyroid hormone secretion treated with continuous renal replacement therapy in a patient with two malignancies Nathaniel Hocker, Maria Story, Alysa Lerud, Sarat Kuppachi BMJ Case Reports.2021; 14(6): e242172. CrossRef
Parathyroid Carcinoma and Ectopic Secretion of Parathyroid hormone Filomena Cetani, Elena Pardi, Claudio Marcocci Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America.2021; 50(4): 683. CrossRef
Primary hepatic neuroendocrine cancer coexisted with hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report Chikara Ebisutani, Seitetsu Yoon, Toshiki Hyodo, Takafumi Watanabe, Hirofumi Okada, Yutaka Shirakawa, Yoshio Sakamoto, Shigeya Hirohata Kanzo.2020; 61(3): 122. CrossRef
Two-in-one: A pooled analysis of primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma combined/collided with hepatocellular carcinoma Jia-Xi Mao, Fei Teng, Ke-Yan Sun, Cong Liu, Guo-Shan Ding, Wen-Yuan Guo Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Diseases International.2020; 19(4): 399. CrossRef