Malignant pheochromocytoma presenting as incapacitating bony pain

Among adrenal incidentalomas, pheochromocytomas are rare. Malignant pheochromocytoma is even less common, and it typically presents with classic hormonal symptoms, such as palpitations, labile blood pressures, and headaches. Bony metastasis usually occurs late in disease, but we report an unusual case of incapacitating bony pain as the initial presentation of malignant pheochromocytoma. Our patient is a 70-year-old woman with neurofibromatosis type 1 and a history of primary hyperparathyroidism, who tested negative for the ret mutation. She came to medical attention with chest pain and palpitations and was incidentally found to have an adrenal mass. Serum and urine testing was consistent with pheochromocytoma. Her blood pressure was easily controlled as she awaited elective adrenalectomy; however, she quickly developed severe, diffuse bony pain. She represented with hypercalcemia, spontaneous fractures, and incapacitating pain that required such high doses of pain medications that she had to be intubated. Further imaging and bone marrow biopsy confirmed metastatic neuroendocrine tumor. She received one round of chemotherapy with no change in her bony pain, which was her primary complaint. Unfortunately, her treatment options were limited by the heavy sedation required for comfort, and in the end, it was her bony pain rather than hormonal symptoms that made her disease untreatable.