Paraneoplastic syndromes review: The great forgotten ones

Abstract

Paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) are a group of disorders that can affect the oncologic patient, and which are not directly attributable to tumour invasion, tumour compression or metastasis. In fact, they are due to tumour secretion of functional hormones or peptides or are related to immune cross-reactivity with the host tissue. These syndromes are called paraneoplastic because the components that cause them do not derive from the organ or tissue of origin, but from the neoplasm suffered by the patient. It is estimated that 10-15% of people with cancer suffer from a PNS (Coleman, 2018). PNS is the second direct cause of death (27% of cases) in cancer patients, after cancer itself. Consequently, it is of remarkable importance to recognize and treat SPNs specifically (Serraj et al., 2020). In view of the above, the aim of this article is to review the state of the art in neurological, haematological, endocrine, and dermatological paraneoplastic syndromes. It is a review in which the most relevant PNS and their symptomatology are described, inquiring into their diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Dermatology; Endocrinology; Hematology; Neurology; Paraneoplastic; Review; Screening; Treatment.