IN RECENT years there has been an increasing interest in malignant disorders associated with hypercalcemia. The spectrum is wide, ranging from solid tumors, predominantly breast, lung, and kidney to hematologic malignancies such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma.1-4 There have been only a few reported cases of leukemia associated with hypercalcemia.1,5-8 The purpose of this paper is to report a case of this unusual association and review the previous literature.
Report of a Case
The patient, a 64-year-old Polish-born Caucasian woman, was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Jan 12, 1965, with symptoms of profound weakness and shortness of breath which had been progressive over a two-month period. She complained of anorexia but had little documented weight loss. Easy bruisability was noted. The past medical history included the uterine instillation of radium for menorrhagia in 1940. The family history and review of systems were noncontributory.