title: Small cell lung cancer presenting with paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis.
abstract: We report two cases of the rare neurological paraneoplastic syndrome, limbic encephalitis, as the initial presentation of small cell lung cancer. The first case responded to treatment of the underlying malignancy, while the second required more acute treatment in the intensive care setting. In this case, initial treatment was with immunosuppression to achieve a degree of stability before the underlying malignancy could be treated. Both cases had significant improvement in neurological function. These cases highlight the importance of directed investigation to try and identify an underlying malignancy in patients in whom a diagnosis of limbic encephalitis is made, and the difficulty in managing such patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, University of Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bowyer
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Millward
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jasas
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blacker
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nowak
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020361:Paraneoplastic Syndromes, Nervous System / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology