A paraneoplastic syndrome is a disease or symptom that is the consequence of the presence of cancer in the body, but is not due to the local presence of cancer cells. These phenomena are mediated by humoral factors (by hormones or cytokines) excreted by tumor cells or by an immune response against the tumor. Paraneoplastic syndromes are typical among middle aged to older patients (as are all cancers), and they most commonly present with cancers o...
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A paraneoplastic syndrome is a disease or symptom that is the consequence of the presence of cancer in the body, but is not due to the local presence of cancer cells. These phenomena are mediated by humoral factors (by hormones or cytokines) excreted by tumor cells or by an immune response against the tumor. Paraneoplastic syndromes are typical among middle aged to older patients (as are all cancers), and they most commonly present with cancers of the lung, breast, ovaries or lymphatic system (a lymphoma). Sometimes the symptoms of paraneoplastic syndromes show even before the diagnosis of a malignancy.
Paraneoplastic syndromes can be divided into 4 main categories: Endocrine, neurological, mucocutaneous and hematological paraneoplastic syndromes, as well as others that may not fit into any of the above categories:
A particularly devastating form of paraneoplastic syndromes is a group of disorders classified as paraneoplastic neurological disorders (PNDs). These paraneoplastic...
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