Paraneoplastic syndromes Flashcards
Give a definition of paraneoplastic syndrome
Paraneoplastic syndromes refers to diseases or signs that develop as a consequence of neoplasia but are not related to the local presence of neoplastic cells
- they are caused by hormones or cytokines produced by tumors or by the body’s reaction to the tumor (especially aberrations of the immune response) at sites distant from the tumor
Four main categories of paraneoplastic syndrome exist:
- cutaneous syndromes (e.g., alopecia associated with pancreatic ADK, exfoliative dermatitis with thymomas)
- neuromuscular syndromes (e.g., myasthenia gravis and thymoma)
- hematological syndromes (e.g., anemia, hemolysis, hemorrhage)
- endocrine and metabolic syndromes (e.g., hypercalcemia, cachexia, pyrexia, hypoglycemia)
