Hypoparathyroidism: A Rare Manifestation of Metastatic Breast Carcinoma

Hypocalcemia is a disorder that may develop in cancer patients as a result of chemotherapeutic agents or tumor lysis syndrome. In rare situations, hypocalcemia may be due to hypoparathyroidism associated with bone-metastatic malignancy. Here, we report a 54-year-old woman with a known case of breast cancer, who presented to the hospital with numbness and paresthesia of the distal extremities 1 year after mastectomy and chemotherapy. She had low plasma calcium and parathyroid hormone levels, as well as a high serum phosphate level. Finally, she was treated with calcium gluconate infusion and calcitriol with a diagnosis of primary hypoparathyroidism. Overall, this case emphasizes the importance of measuring serum calcium levels in patients with metastatic bone carcinoma since this could affect their symptoms. Moreover, we should consider the probability of hypoparathyroidism in the differential diagnosis of hypocalcemic symptoms, even in patients with known malignancy.

Cite this article as: Aboutorabi R, Akbari-Rad M, Ataei Azimi S. Hypoparathyroidism: A rare manifestation of metastatic breast carcinoma. Endocrinol Res Pract. 2023;27(2):89-92.