Malignancy Associated Type B Lactic Acidosis: A Rare, yet Fascinating Oncological Emergency

Type B lactic acidosis has been described infrequently in hematologic malignancies, but even less often in solid tumors. Since 1978, there have been only 58 cases of solid tumor associated Type B lactic acidosis described in the literature. Lung cancer (neuroendocrine) is the most common tumor; others frequently have a poorly/undifferentiated histology. The prognosis is dismal. Malignancy associated type B lactic acidosis is not associated with hypoxemia. The most highlighted pathogenetic mechanism is the Warburg effect (aerobic glycolysis of tumor cells causing excess lactate). We describe a patient with metastatic GI neuroendocrine carcinoma with profound lactic acidosis, who died within 24 hours. When extremely ill cancer patients present with lactic acidosis, sepsis is usually a primary concern. This case highlights the need for providers to consider malignancy associated lactic acidosis (MA-LA) in the differential diagnosis, particularly in patients with advanced malignancies, of lung origin, of neuroendocrine or poorly/undifferentiated histologic subtypes. The implications and approach are distinct from Type A/D lactic acidosis, and would involve treatment of the underlying malignancy at the earliest.