Paraneoplastic syndromes of the nervous system

Abstract

Paraneoplastic disorders may affect any part of the central and peripheral nervous system and can be confused with other neurologic complications of cancer. Because paraneoplastic syndromes usually develop before the presence of a cancer is known, it is important for the clinician to have a high index of suspicion that a patient's symptoms may be paraneoplastic. For many of these syndromes there is increasing evidence that early treatment of the tumor and immunotherapy may result in neurologic stabilization or improvement. © 2008 Humana Press, Totowa, NJ.