Hypercalcemia in patients with esophageal cancer

Hypercalcemia is a paraneoplastic syndrome that is associated with squamous cell cancers and which may be of life-threatening proportions. We investigated the incidence and prognostic importance of hypercalcemia in patients with esophageal cancer at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. The medical records of 170 patients with esophageal cancer from January 1988 to January 1998 were examined. Of the 170 patients with esophageal cancer, 47 (27.6%) had hypercalcemia during the course of their disease. Five (10.6%) of the 47 hypercalcemic patients were found to have hypercalcemia at the time of diagnosis. Forty-six of the 47 hypercalcemic patients had squamous cell carcinoma and 1 had adenosquamous cell carcinoma. Seven (14.8%) had bony metastasis. The median survival of patients with hypercalcemia and esophageal cancer was 12.4 months and 12.6 months for patients without hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia is a common complication of squamous cell esophageal carcinoma. The survival of patients with or without this complication is similar; thus, it may not be a poor prognostic factor.