title: Small-Cell Carcinoma of the Cervix Presenting with Severe Hypokalemia as a Manifestation of Cushing's Syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A case of small-cell carcinoma of the cervix and severe hypokalemia is presented. The need for surveillance of paraneoplastic syndromes in these patients is emphasized.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patient's clinical course is presented. The available literature regarding small-cell carcinoma of the cervix and Cushing's syndrome is reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 32-year-old woman had diagnosed small-cell carcinoma after simple hysterectomy. After radical parametrectomy, she developed liver metastases that did not respond to chemotherapy. Subsequently, she developed severe and unremitting hypokalemia, which was determined to be the initial manifestation of Cushing's syndrome secondary to ectopic adenocorticotropic hormone production. Typical clinical features of Cushing's syndrome were noted to arise during subsequent examinations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Though paraneoplastic syndromes associated with small-cell carcinoma of the cervix are rare, this case report describes one of these syndromes as an etiology for metabolic derangements.
authors.affiliation: * Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham † Department of Pathology, St Vincent's Hospital, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Roland
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kilgore