Paraneoplastic syndromes
Hormonal and immune mechanisms, the classic syndrome-tumour pairs across endocrine, neurological, skin, blood, renal and rheumatological systems, how to search for the hidden cancer, and why treating the tumour comes first.
Tier 2Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- A paraneoplastic syndrome is caused by what the tumour secretes (hormones, peptides, cytokines) or by an immune response that cross-reacts with normal tissue, not by tumour bulk or spread.
- They affect about 8% of people with cancer and are commonest with small cell lung cancer, then breast, ovarian, renal cell carcinoma, thymoma and lymphoma.
- In about two thirds of neurological cases the syndrome comes before the cancer diagnosis. Recognising it can find a small, curable tumour.
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Sources
- Graus F et al. Updated diagnostic criteria for paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 2021;8(4):e1014PNS-Care panel (Neurology Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation), 2021
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Neurology (eTG complete), autoimmune encephalitis and paraneoplastic syndromesAU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited
- Titulaer MJ et al. Screening for tumours in paraneoplastic syndromes: report of an EFNS task force. Eur J Neurol 2011;18:19-e3European Federation of Neurological Societies, 2011
- Pelosof LC, Gerber DE. Paraneoplastic syndromes: an approach to diagnosis and treatment. Mayo Clin Proc 2010;85:838-54Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2010
- Oldroyd AGS et al. International guideline for idiopathic inflammatory myopathy-associated cancer screening: an IMACS initiative. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2023;19:805-17International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group (Nature Reviews Rheumatology), 2023
- Criteria for the clinical use of immunoglobulin in AustraliaAU/NZNational Blood Authority
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
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