Hypocalcemia in leukemia

Hypocalcemia is seen in patients with leukemia and is usually due to renal impairment or to low serum albumin concentrations. Four patients are reported who had hypocalcemia but without these usual explanations. One patient had chronic lymphatic leukemia and overwhelming infections which led to death. The other three patients had chronic myelogenous leukemia in an accelerated phase of the disease characterized by increasing blast cells in circulation, massive hepatosplenomegaly, and myelofibrosis. The cause of the hypocclcemia is unknown.