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Previous Volume 349:1543-1554 October 16, 2003 Number 16 Next

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The term "paraneoplastic syndromes" refers to symptoms or signs resulting from damage to organs or tissues that are remote from the site of a malignant neoplasm or its metastases. Paraneoplastic syndromes can affect most organs and tissues. Widely known examples include cancer cachexia,¹ hypercalcemia,² Cushing's syndrome,³ and Trousseau's syndrome.⁴ Most of these paraneoplastic syndromes occur because the tumor secretes substances that mimic normal hormones or that interfere with circulating proteins. A few paraneoplastic neurologic disorders are caused by similar mechanisms (e.g., carcinoid myopathy and encephalopathy).⁵ However, most or all paraneoplastic neurologic disorders are immune-mediated. (We do not consider damage to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Clinical Features

Laboratory Findings

Antibodies

Antigens

Pathophysiological Features

The Autoimmune Model of Pathogenesis

Tumor Immunity in Paraneoplastic Syndromes

            The Tumor

            The Nervous System

            Antibodies and Cytotoxic T Cells

Unresolved Issues

Animal Models

Protection against the Tumor

Variations in Pathological Features

Treatment

Prognosis

Source Information

From the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Rockefeller University (R.B.D.); and the Department of Neurology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (R.B.D., J.B.P.) — both in New York.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Posner at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY 10021, or at posnerj@mskcc.org.

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