Paraneoplastic Opsoclonus Myoclonus in a Patient with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (OMS) is an extremely rare neurological syndrome typically affecting as few as 1 in 10,000,000 people annually. OMS is characterized by the presence of involuntary, saccadic eye movements, as well as ataxia, including gait incoordination, rigidity, and tremor. The origin of OMS is unclear, but a significant percentage of OMS cases are indicative of an underlying malignancy, most commonly neuroblastoma and small cell lung cancer. Here we describe an adult patient with OMS, who was ultimately diagnosed with a small ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. To our knowledge, this is the third published report of an association between OMS and pancreatic malignancy, and the only case where the pancreatic malignancy was detected prior to metastasis or autopsy at death. This case report highlights the importance of careful, aggressive malignancy screening with OMS, as the pancreatic duct cut-off sign may be overlooked if pancreatic malignancy is not suspected.