title: [Clinical features and treatment of paraneoplastic neurological syndrome associated with small cell lung cancer].
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hongzhi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China; Email: liuhsh@pumch.cn.
authors.forename: Hongsheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yicheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Shanqing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D004660:Encephalitis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D015624:Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome; D008175:Lung Neoplasms; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010257:Paraneoplastic Syndromes; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma