Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of pareneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) associated with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in a single-center cohort.
Methods: We retrospectively and consecutively reviewed 34 patients (22 male and 12 female, mean age 55.4 years old) diagnosed as PNS associated with SCLC in our hospital from 2001 to 2014 and investigated the clinical features, related antibodies, treatment and prognosis in this cohort.
Results: In a total of 34 patients, 31 (91.4%) presented with neurological symptoms prior to the diagnosis of cancer. Lambert-Eaton syndrome (13/34, 38.2%) was the most common subtype, followed by paraneoplastic sensory neuronopathy (10/34, 29.4%), paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (7/34, 20.6%), limbic encephalitis (6/34, 17.6%) and brainstem encephalitis (1/34, 3%). Anti-neuronal antibodies were positive in 9 out of a total of 24 patients (37.5%) who performed the tests. There were 28 (82.4%) patients who received the treatment for the primary tumor. Of them, operation of removing the tumor was performed in 4 patients. 5 patients received treatment of suppression of the immune response to PNS. Significant neurological improvement was found in a patient who received operation combined with immunotherapy after a 3-year follow-up.
Conclusions: The majority of patients with PNS are unknown to have cancer at the time of diagnosis. Early recognition of PNS is helpful to the treatment of the tumor. PNS has diverse presentations, affecting both the central and peripheral nervous system, which makes the diagnosis hard. Operation of removing the tumor and immune suppression may slow the immune response, creating the greatest chance for neurologic improvement or symptom stabilization.