Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes: a single institution 10-year case series

Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndromes: Study of Prevalence in a Province of the Lombardy Region, Italy

“…PNS patients admitted to hospitals in the province of Brescia numbered 54 and included 29 with polyneuropathies associated with SCLC, five with cerebellar degeneration (four with SCLC and one with colon cancer), one patient with encephalomyelitis and SCLC and 19 patients with degenerative brain diseases (14 with SCLC, three with breast cancer and two without tumors). In line with previous studies, prevalence analysis for the province of Brescia and the region of Lombardy confirmed that degenerative brain diseases and polyneuropathies are the most frequent PNSs [ 3 , 5 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 34 ].…”

“…The prevalence in Brescia province was 30.54 in 100,000 hospital admissions and 8.33 in 100,000 for the population of Brescia. Our epidemiological data over six years in Lombardy therefore showed a higher prevalence of PNSs than reported in the literature, especially when the data are compared with that of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region (prevalence: 4 in 100,000) reported by Vogrig et al [ 2 , 3 , 11 , 35 ]. The higher prevalence in Lombardy is due to socio-economic differences and the greater industrialization of Lombardy and the province of Brescia.…”

“…PNSs may involve any part of the central and peripheral nervous system [ 2 ]. In 50–80% of patients, the neurological disorder develops before the cancer [ 3 ]. The diagnostic criteria of PNSs include manifestation of the typical neurological signs and detection of onconeural antibodies associated with cancer [ 4 ].…”

“…The rarity of PNSs may depend on the difficulty of collecting a large group of PNS patients in centers equipped to conduct epidemiological studies. The few epidemiological studies on PNSs concern the incidence of specific syndromes [ 9 , 10 ], while other studies refer to the incidence in tertiary referral centers [ 3 , 11 , 12 ]. Prevalence studies are rarer and again refer to tertiary care [ 11 ] or to a specific PNS [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are rare disorders that occur in less than 0.01% of patients with cancer [ 1 , 3 ]. Little epidemiological data are available on PNSs and secondary care or specific PNSs in cancer patients [ 3 , 11 ], although their incidence and prevalence are presumably not negligible. The choice of the Lombardy region and in particular the province of Brescia is motivated by the fact that the number of cancer patients and the prevalence of cancer in this area are the highest in Italy [ 15 , 16 ].…”