Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration associated with ovarian adenocarcinoma: A case report and review of literature

Abstract

Paraneoplastic syndromes are a rare heterogeneous group of disorders that are indicators of the underlying occult malignancy. Subacute cerebellar ataxia in a patient with a known cancer is often due to metastatic invasion or other complications of the cancer, such as infection, coagulopathy, metabolic and nutritional deficits, or side effects of treatment. When tumor- and treatment-related causes have been excluded, the patient is considered to suffer from paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD). We report a case of PCD that presented before any evidence of tumor, but early diagnostic workup and clinical vigilance helped us to find the underlying high-grade ovarian adenocarcinoma which was surgically removed later.

Keywords

• Adenocarcinoma
• anti-Yo antibody
• cerebellar ataxia
• paraneoplastic