Polyneuropathy in a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma: a paraneoplastic syndrome
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008.
Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2008 Nov;3(11):1359-60. [Link]
Bech C, Sørensen JB.
Department of Oncology, Finsen Centre, National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. cecilia.bech@rh.regionh.dk
Abstract
Paraneoplastic syndromes have only been reported in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in a few cases. In this case, we describe a 57-year-old man with MPM who developed sensory-motor polyneuropathy 18 days after diagnosis. Thorough endocrinological, neurological, and paraclinical examinations gave no explanation of the symptoms, and paraneoplasia was therefore suspected. The patient was treated with immunoglobulin and prednisolone, and this resulted in subjective, objective, and paraclinical improvement of the symptoms. We therefore suggest that polyneuropathy is a possible paraneoplastic syndrome in MPM.
Glossary
- oncology
- (on-call-o-jee) the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
- diagnosis
- identifying a disease by its signs or symptoms, and by using imaging procedures and laboratory findings. The earlier a diagnosis of cancer is made, the better the chance for long-term survival.
- mesothelioma
- a tumor derived from mesothelial tissue, such as the peritoneum (lining the abdomen) or pleura (lining the lungs). More on mesothelioma.
