Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2025 Apr 23;12(2):97-100.
doi: 10.1016/j.aed.2025.04.005. eCollection 2025 Jul-Aug.

Durvalumab-Induced Hypoparathyroidism

Christopher Chan  1   2   3 , Varun Manoharan  1   2   4 , Manimegalai Manoharan  1   2   5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Durvalumab-Induced Hypoparathyroidism

Christopher Chan et al. AACE Endocrinol Diabetes. .

Abstract

Background/objective: There have been more reported immune-related adverse events with increasing use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the treatment of cancers. A range of endocrinopathies have been reported; however, ICI-induced hypoparathyroidism remains a rare immune-related adverse event. The objective of this report is to describe a rare case of durvalumab-induced hypoparathyroidism.

Case report: We describe a case of a 64-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with acute symptomatic hypocalcemia 2 years after completion of durvalumab treatment for stage III non-small cell lung cancer, who had a suppressed parathyroid hormone level, which persisted with correction of calcium levels.

Discussion: ICI-induced hypoparathyroidism is a rare entity with only few cases reported in the literature, the mechanism for which remains unclear. Persistence of hypoparathyroidism despite discontinuation of immunotherapy makes inflammation and immune-mediated destruction a possible explanation.

Conclusion: This case reinforces the need for an increased awareness and recognition of durvalumab-induced hypoparathyroidism, in addition to more investigation into its underlying mechanisms and potential management options.

Keywords: durvalumab; hypoparathyroidism; immune checkpoint inhibitors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig
Fig
A, Trends in corrected calcium levels. B, Trends in parathyroid hormone levels. C, Trends in phosphate levels. ED = emergency department.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Puzanov I., Diab A., Abdallah K., et al. Managing toxicities associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: consensus recommendations from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Toxicity Management Working Group. J Immunother Cancer. 2017;5(1):95. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kotwal A., Kennedy R., Kikani N., Thosani S., Goldner W., Shariff A. Endocrinopathies associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor use. Endocr Pract. 2024;30(6):584–591. - PubMed
    1. Bilezikian J.P., Khan A., Potts Jr JT., et al. Hypoparathyroidism in the adult: epidemiology, diagnosis, pathophysiology, target-organ involvement, treatment, and challenges for future research. J Bone Miner Res. 2011;26(10):2317–2337. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Clarke B.L., Brown E.M., Collins M.T., et al. Epidemiology and diagnosis of hypoparathyroidism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016;101(6):2284–2299. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Win M.A., Thein K.Z., Qdaisat A., Yeung S.J. Acute symptomatic hypocalcemia from immune checkpoint therapy-induced hypoparathyroidism. Am J Emerg Med. 2017;35(7):1039.e5–1039.e7. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources