[Metastatic calcification associated with malignancy]

From 1975 to 1986, 15 cases (2%) of metastatic calcification associated with an underlying malignancy were found in a review of 702 autopsied cases with histories of malignancy. These underlying malignancies included 7 cases of lung cancer, 6 cases of malignant lymphoma, one case of breast cancer, and one of urinary bladder cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma was of the histological type most often associated with metastatic calcification in lung cancer, and ATL in malignant lymphoma. Hypercalcemia was found in 10 (83%) out of cases, and almost all were accompanied by renal dysfunction. Calcium deposits were most frequently observed in the kidneys and the lungs. It has been suggested that metastatic calcification in the lungs and kidneys of a patient with a history of malignancy showing hypercalcemia is sometimes accompanied by respiratory and renal dysfunction, causing the patient's condition to deteriorate.