Please cite this article in press as: Agarwala R, et al. Spontaneous tumour lysis syndrome in hepatocellular carcinoma
presenting with hypocalcemic tetany: An unusual case and systematic literature review. Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol
(2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinre.2016.09.003
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CASE REPORT
Spontaneous tumour lysis syndrome in
hepatocellular carcinoma presenting with
hypocalcemic tetany: An unusual case and
systematic literature review
Roshan Agarwala
a
, Akash Batta
b
, Varun Suryadevera
b
,
Vivek Kumar
c
, Vishal Sharma
a,*
, Surinder Singh Rana
a
a
Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India
b
Department of Internal Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India
c
Department of Nephrology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India
Summary Tumour lysis syndrome is an oncological emergency which is usually seen following
chemotherapy for rapidly proliferating haematological malignancies. Spontaneous tumour lysis
syndrome is rare in solid tumour and even rarer with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tumour
lysis syndrome in the setting of HCC is usually reported as a consequence of therapeutic inter-
ventions like sorafenib administration or trans-arterial chemoembolization. We report about a
case of a young lady with chronic hepatitis B related HCC who developed spontaneous tumour
lysis syndrome and presented with hypocalcemic tetany. We also compare this case with the
previously reported cases of spontaneous tumour lysis syndrome in hepatocellular carcinoma.
© 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Tumour lysis syndrome (TLS) is an oncological emer-
gency that results from rapid destruction of malignant
*
Corresponding author at: Department of Gastroenterology, Post-
graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh,
India. Tel.: +91 7087008099.
E-mail address: docvishalsharma@gmail.com (V. Sharma).
cells which can cause hyperuricemia, hyperkalemia, hyper-
phosphatemia, hypocalcemia and renal failure [1]. It is
predominantly seen after the initiation of chemotherapy in
haematological malignancies, and is relatively infrequent
with solid tumours [2]. Rarely rapid destruction of cells
can occur spontaneously without preceding chemotherapy,
a condition known as spontaneous tumour lysis syndrome
(STLS). STLS is exceedingly rare in hepatocellular carcinoma
(HCC). Here we report a case of metastatic HCC who pre-
sented with tetany and was diagnosed as having STLS.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinre.2016.09.003
2210-7401/© 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.