A challenging case of tumor-induced osteomalacia: pathophysiological and clinical implications

We investigated the usefulness of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) intraoperative assay to monitor tumor resection in patients with oncogenic osteomalacia. A 33-year-old man with 5 years’ history of lumbar and pelvis pain together with multiple vertebral fractures was admitted to our hospital. He was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis 1 year before. Laboratory investigation showed low tubular reabsorption of phosphate (0.41 mmol/L) despite chronic hypophosphatemia (0.39/L). Increased plasma values of FGF23 (673 pg/mL; n.v. < 95 pg/mL) were also observed. A full-body CT scan showed two suspicious areas in the head of the right femur and in the right tibia; however, the Octreoscan™ showed an increased uptake of the tracer only in the femur. We decided to remove first the head femur lesion and perform intraoperative FGF23 assay to confirm tumor resection; if this had been unsuccessful, we would have extended the operation to excise the second bone lesion. FGF23 basal values and 10, 60, and 225 min after excision of the femoral head were 423, 127, 56, and 30 pg/mL, respectively. The brisk fall of FGF23 values suggested that the head femur lesion was responsible for the syndrome. Histological examination revealed a mesenchymal highly vascular tumor. This is the first report showing the possibility of intraoperative FGF23 assay to monitor tumor resection in patients with tumor-induced osteomalacia.