[Hypercalcemia in non-Hodgkin lymphoma]

In a retrospective study, hypercalcemia was found on one or more occasions in 14 of 156 patients with newly detected, still active or relapsing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The incidence of hypercalcemia correlated with the histological grade of malignancy: patients with high grade NHL had a hypercalcemia incidence of 23%. Half of the patients had hypercalcemia-related symptoms, and 4 of 14 had hypercalcemia-induced renal impairment. The occurrence or recurrence of hypercalcemia correlated with progression of NHL. Remission-inducing chemotherapy and symptomatic treatment of hypercalcemia corrected the serum calcium.