Abstract
Twelve patients with malignancy-associated hypercalcemia (MAH) were examined in order to clarify whether or not 1) treatment with salmon calcitonin (sCT) in combination with prednisolone (PSL) has any beneficial effects over sCT alone, and 2) there is any difference in the effect of sCT treatment among different subtypes of MAH. Of these patients, three had multiple myeloma, four had solid tumors with bone metastases and five had solid tumors without bone metastases. When sCT was given with PSL, all the patients showed a sustained reduction in serum Ca level. Among four patients who received sCT alone, however, only two exhibited a significant reduction in serum Ca level. There was no apparent difference in the hypocalcemic effect of sCT and PSL among the three subgroups of patients. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between the hypocalcemic effect and pre-treatment serum P level (r=0.605, p<0.05) a These results demonstrate that hypocalcemic effect of sCT can be obtained when sCT is administered in combination with PSL to any subtypes of patients with MAH. The higher the serum P, the more pronounced did the hypocalcemic effect of sCT appear.
