title: Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration as the first manifestation of cancer.
abstract: Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a type of paraneoplastic syndrome that primarily affects women with gynecological cancers. Patients typically experience pancerebellar symptoms, including gait ataxia, dysarthria, nystagmus, and truncal and appendicular ataxia. We present the case of a 50-year-old woman with PCD and presumed ovarian cancer who initially complained of ataxia and dysarthria. PCD was diagnosed on the basis of her symptoms, diagnostic imaging, and laboratory work. PCD symptoms may precede the diagnosis of malignancy by months or years. Early diagnosis and treatment of these syndromes, including rehabilitation, may result in improvements in quality of life for this population of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lachmann
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nagler
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004401:Dysarthria / Q000209:etiology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D020234:Gait Ataxia / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D020362:Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011788:Quality of Life