eMedicine Specialties > Neurology > Neuro-oncology

Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration: Follow-up

Author: Abbas Mehdi, MD, Director, MDA Center of Central California; Consulting Staff, Department of Neurology, California Neurological Center, Inc
Coauthor(s): David Y Ko, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jul 13, 2009

Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

  • Patients usually require long-term rehabilitation and/or hospice care in severe situations. Treatment is unsatisfactory, and chance of long-term survival is poor in reported cases.
  • In patients in whom no tumor can be detected after a comprehensive workup, routinely perform outpatient measurement of antibody levels with tumor markers and other tests related to diagnosis of possible malignancies.

Prognosis

Prognosis greatly depends on early detection of the underlying neoplasm and its stage at the time of detection.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration may be rare, but in patients who do not have any identifiable etiology for a diffuse cerebellar dysfunction, this disease should be investigated. Regardless of whether antineuronal antibodies are detected, a comprehensive malignancy workup should be performed.

 


More on Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration

Overview: Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration
Treatment & Medication: Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration
Follow-up: Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration
Multimedia: Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome, PCD, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, lung cancer, occult gynecologic cancers, malignancy, paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Abbas Mehdi, MD, Director, MDA Center of Central California; Consulting Staff, Department of Neurology, California Neurological Center, Inc
Abbas Mehdi, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Epilepsy Society, and American Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

David Y Ko, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
David Y Ko, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, American Medical Association, and California Medical Association
Disclosure: Pfizer Honoraria Speaking and teaching; UCB Grant/research funds clinical trials; Johnson and Johnson Grant/research funds clinical trials

Medical Editor

Frederick M Vincent Sr, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology, Michigan State University Colleges of Human and Osteopathic Medicine
Frederick M Vincent Sr, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Neurology, American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, American College of Forensic Examiners, American College of Legal Medicine, American College of Physicians, and Michigan State Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

Jorge Kattah, MD, Head, Program Director, Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria
Jorge Kattah, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, and New York Academy of Sciences
Disclosure: Biogen Honoraria Consulting; Bayer Corporation Honoraria Consulting

CME Editor

Selim R Benbadis, MD, Professor, Director of Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of South Florida School of Medicine, Tampa General Hospital
Selim R Benbadis, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, American Epilepsy Society, and American Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Stephen A Berman, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Neurology, Dartmouth Medical School; Chief, Neurology Service, White River Junction Veterans Medical Center
Stephen A Berman, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Neurology, and Phi Beta Kappa
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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