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Query: UMLS:C0020437 (hypercalcemia)
 10,293 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Calcium homeostasis and the symptoms, etiology, and general medical management of hypercalcemia are reviewed. Hypercalcemia, an elevation in total serum calcium concentration, may produce neurologic, gastrointestinal, renal, and cardiovascular disturbances; it may also cause calcification in extraskeletal tissue. Hyperparathyroidism and malignancy cause more than 90% of cases of this potentially fatal disorder. When correction of the underlying cause of hypercalcemia is impossible, calcium-lowering therapy is necessary. Acute management of hypercalcemia often involves rehydration, mobilization of the patient, and furosemide-induced diuresis. These measures may be followed by intravenous administration of etidronate, plicamycin, or calcitonin. Agents used in the long-term management of hypercalcemia include oral phosphates, oral etidronate, intermittent intravenous plicamycin, and, in selected patients, corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Investigational calcium-lowering agents include gallium nitrate, ethiofos, dichloromethylene diphosphonate, and aminohydroxyproline diphosphonate. Many agents are available for the treatment of hypercalcemia. Therapy can be individualized by integrating knowledge of the physiologic causes of hypercalcemia, the mechanism of action of calcium-lowering drugs, and the patient's other disease states. Further studies are needed to define the role of investigational calcium-lowering agents.
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PMID:Medical treatment of hypercalcemia. 252 20

Intractable hypercalcemia is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with parathyroid carcinoma. Because gallium nitrate previously was shown to inhibit the bone resorptive activity of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in vitro, we used it to treat two patients with parathyroid carcinoma and resistant hypercalcemia. In both patients, total serum calcium levels were reduced from initial values of 3.62 and 3.77 mmol/L to posttreatment values of 2.32 and 1.45 mmol/L, respectively. Urinary excretion of calcium and hydroxyproline also declined significantly. Serum PTH levels were lower in both patients after therapy, although all levels remained markedly elevated. Nephrogenous cyclic adenosine monophosphate and tubular reabsorption of phosphate remained unchanged. These data indicate that treatment with gallium nitrate can control hypercalcemia in patients with high circulating levels of PTH. Gallium nitrate antagonizes the bone resorptive activity of PTH without altering renal effects of the hormone.
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PMID:Gallium nitrate for treatment of refractory hypercalcemia from parathyroid carcinoma. 282 62

Gallium, a group IIIa metal, is known to interact with hydroxyapatite as well as the cellular components of bone. In recent studies we have found gallium to be a potent inhibitor of bone resorption that is clinically effective in controlling cancer-related hypercalcemia as well as the accelerated bone resorption associated with bone metastases. To begin to elucidate gallium's mechanism of action we have examined its effects on bone mineral properties. After short-term (14 days) administration to rats, gallium nitrate produced measurable changes in bone mineral properties. Using atomic absorption spectroscopy, low levels of gallium were noted to preferentially accumulate in regions of active bone formation, 0.54 +/- .07 microgram/mg bone in the metaphyses versus 0.21 +/- .03 microgram/mg bone in the diaphyses, P less than 0.001. The bones of treated animals had increased calcium content measured spectrophotometrically. Rats injected with radiolabeled calcium during gallium treatment had greater 45-calcium content compared to control animals. By wide-angle X-ray analyses, larger and/or more perfect hydroxyapatite was observed. The combined effects of gallium on bone cell function and bone mineral may explain its clinical efficacy in blocking accelerated bone resorption.
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PMID:Gallium increases bone calcium and crystallite perfection of hydroxyapatite. 302 92

Current treatment of cancer-related hypercalcemia is limited by agents of limited effectiveness or excessive toxicity. Gallium nitrate is a new drug which both inhibits bone resorption and increases calcium content of bone. We have now treated 39 episodes of hypercalcemia with gallium nitrate administered as a continuous i.v. infusion for 5-7 days at 3 daily dose levels (100 and 200 mg/m2, and 50 mg/m2 by brief infusion followed by 150 mg/m2). Nadir calcium values were significantly lower (9.2 +/- 1.5 mg/dl) for patients who received the highest dose relative to patients who received the lowest dose (10.5 +/- 1.6 mg/dl, P less than 0.001). While the actual percentage of patients who achieved normocalcemia was higher at the highest dose relative to the lowest dose (86 versus 60%), this difference was not statistically significant. Mean serum concentration of inorganic phosphorous declined significantly for all patients from 2.9 +/- 0.86 mg/dl at base line to 1.8 +/- 0.66 mg/dl (P less than 0.001). Pharmacokinetic studies suggested that a threshold plasma gallium concentration of approximately 1 microgram/ml must be attained to achieve acute normalization of elevated serum calcium levels. Steady-state plasma gallium levels were attained after 48 h; there was no evidence of drug accumulation in plasma after 2 days. Effects on serum creatinine concentration were negligible, and there were no other toxic reactions. These data confirm preclinical experiments which suggested that inhibition of bone resorption by gallium nitrate is dependent upon the dose and duration of drug exposure. We conclude that gallium nitrate is effective treatment for cancer-related hypercalcemia. The drug is now being evaluated against standard treatment in a randomized, double-blind trial.
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PMID:Gallium nitrate for acute treatment of cancer-related hypercalcemia: clinicopharmacological and dose response analysis. 373 Oct 88

Bone metastases are a major source of morbidity in patients with cancer. Previously, we found that gallium nitrate was a highly effective treatment for cancer-related hypercalcemia. Laboratory studies have shown that this drug inhibits bone resorption in vitro and that short-term treatment in vivo increases the calcium content of bone. We evaluated the clinical effects of gallium nitrate on biochemical parameters of increased bone turnover in 22 patients with bone metastases. Treatment with gallium nitrate for five to seven days caused a median reduction in 24-hour urinary calcium excretion of 66% relative to baseline measurements (P less than .01). Hydroxyproline (OHP) excretion was also significantly reduced (P less than .01). The greatest reduction in hydroxyprolinuria occurred in patients with high baseline excretion. Ionized serum calcium and serum phosphorous declined significantly after treatment (P less than .01 for each). Serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (PTH) increased significantly (P less than .01), as did serum levels of 1,25 (OH)2-vitamin D3 (P less than .05). Urinary phosphorous excretion and serum levels of 25-OH-vitamin D3 were not significantly changed. No major toxic reactions occurred as a result of this treatment. These results indicate that gallium nitrate significantly reduces biochemical parameters associated with accelerated bone turnover and that this agent may be useful for preventing pathologic conditions associated with bone metastases.
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PMID:Gallium nitrate inhibits accelerated bone turnover in patients with bone metastases. 380 70

Gallium nitrate was recently found to be effective treatment for resistant cancer-related hypercalcemia. In vitro and in vivo experiments have suggested that the drug directly inhibits calcium resorption from bone; however, the overall effects of gallium nitrate on calcium balance were unknown. We have completed metabolic balance studies in four patients who received this drug by prolonged infusion. All patients were in positive calcium balance while receiving the drug. Each patient also showed a substantial decrease in urinary calcium excretion. Serum phosphorus decreased in all four patients. There was no change in phosphorus, sodium, chloride, or magnesium balance or in creatinine clearance. We conclude that prolonged infusions of gallium nitrate reduce urinary calcium excretion and that the hypocalcemic effect of this drug is primarily due to inhibition of calcium resorption from bone. Thus, the drug may prove useful in reducing accelerated bone resorption in patients with bone metastases or chronic cancer-related hypercalcemia.
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PMID:Metabolic effects of gallium nitrate administered by prolonged infusion. 401 69

Approximately two-thirds of patients who receive the anticancer drug gallium nitrate develop mild hypocalcemia. To evaluate the mechanism of drug-induced hypocalcemia, we tested the effects of gallium nitrate upon in vitro release of 45Ca++ from explanted fetal rat bones. The drug significantly inhibited 45Ca++ release in response to stimulation with both parathyroid hormone and a lymphokine preparation with osteoclast activating factor activity. The inhibitory effects on bone resorption were both time- and dose-dependent. Later, in a pilot study, we treated 10 patients who had cancer-related hypercalcemia with gallium nitrate administered by continuous infusion. All patients responded by a reduction of total serum calcium to normal or subnormal concentrations (13.8 +/- 1.05 mg/dl, mean +/- SD pretreatment, to 8.03 +/- 1.03 mg/dl, mean posttreatment nadir). Our results indicate that gallium nitrate effectively treats cancer-related hypercalcemia and that it probably acts by inhibiting calcium release from bone.
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PMID:Gallium nitrate inhibits calcium resorption from bone and is effective treatment for cancer-related hypercalcemia. 671 48

Gallium is a group IIIa transition metal that lowers serum calcium by an unknown mechanism and has been utilized in the treatment of cancer-associated hypercalcemia. The purpose of this study was to histomorphometrically investigate the ultrastructural effects of gallium nitrate on osteoclasts and osteoblasts in trabecular bone of normal nude mice and nude mice with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. Two groups of normal nude mice (n = 7 and n = 8, respectively) and two groups of hypercalcemic nude mice (n = 9) bearing a serially transplantable canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) were treated with vehicle or gallium nitrate. Osteoclasts were hypertrophied in vehicle-treated tumor-bearing nude mice as compared with vehicle-treated nontumor-bearing nude mice. Osteoclasts from tumor-bearing nude mice treated with gallium nitrate were significantly decreased in size and had fewer intracytoplasmic vesicles as compared with osteoclasts from vehicle-treated tumor-bearing nude mice. Degenerate osteoclasts, characterized by pyknotic nuclei and increased cytoplasmic vacuolation, were observed in both groups of gallium-treated nude mice. Osteoblasts from vehicle-treated tumor-bearing nude mice were hypertrophied and had extensive lamellar arrays of rough endoplasmic reticulum as compared with osteoblasts from vehicle-treated nontumor-bearing nude mice. Osteoblasts in gallium-treated nude mice (tumor-bearing and nontumor-bearing) were small and flattened with poorly developed cytoplasmic organelles. This investigation demonstrated that osteoclasts and osteoblasts in nude mice treated with gallium nitrate had ultrastructural evidence of decreased metabolic and functional activity. The results suggest that gallium nitrate lowers serum calcium by inhibiting osteoclastic bone resorption.
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PMID:Ultrastructural and histomorphometric evaluations of gallium nitrate on bone in nude mice bearing a canine adenocarcinoma (CAC-8) model of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. 772 96

Hypercalcemia (HCM) occurs in 10-15% of all malignancies, predominantly in patients with solid tumors. This metabolic complication leads to significant morbidity and impairment of quality of life. Recent insights into the pathophysiology of HCM include an understanding of the role of parathyroid-hormone-related peptide and several cytokines secreted by tumors. The osteoclast plays a central role as the final common pathway through which these hormones and cytokines act to cause bone lysis. These findings have led to the development of new treatment strategies. Foremost among these has been the introduction of agents such as the newer bisphosphonates and gallium nitrate, which are potent inhibitors of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. The clinician can now choose from an array of therapeutic approaches based on a consideration of the mechanisms of action, individual clinical circumstances, efficacy, toxicities and costs of available agents. In addition to their use in the management of HCM, non-toxic drugs that effectively inhibit osteoclast function, such as the bisphosphonates, are playing an emerging role in the palliative treatment of the more common clinical problems of painful lytic bone metastases and osteoporosis.
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PMID:The management of hypercalcemia of malignancy. 777 80

An established rat hypercalcemia model was used to study the effects of gallium nitrate on elevated serum calcium levels. Gallium nitrate was administered by i.v. or i.p. injection at daily doses of 0.07-0.45 mmol/kg for 5 days to the hypercalcemic rats beginning 1 day following surgery. A dose-correlated normocalcemic response was observed. Gallium nitrate administered late after the induction of the hypercalcemic state was also effective in reducing serum calcium levels. The p.o. administration, however, even at doses as high as 0.45 mmol/kg, did not reduce serum calcium to normal levels. The values of area under the concentration versus time curve (0-24 h) of gallium in normal rats were comparable after i.v. [49.2 (micrograms/ml)h] or i.p. [57.0 (micrograms/ml)h] injections. In contrast, the p.o. route achieved only 15% bioavailability, which may explain the ineffectiveness of p.o. administered gallium nitrate at that dose level. This study suggests that daily i.v. bolus injections of gallium nitrate for managing hypercalcemia may be potentially as effective as the current regimen of continuous i.v. infusion.
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PMID:Normocalcemic effect of gallium nitrate in a hypercalcemic rat model. 781 63


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