Paraneoplastic syndrome overview

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Paraneoplastic syndrome Microchapters
Patient Information
Overview
Classification Endocrine Musculocutaneous Neurological Hematological Others
Causes
Differential diagnosis

Overview

A paraneoplastic syndrome is a disease or symptom that is the consequence of the presence of cancer in the body, but is not due to the local presence of cancer cells. These phenomena are mediated by humoral factors (by hormones or cytokines) excreted by tumor cells or by an immune response against the tumor. Sometimes the symptoms of paraneoplastic syndromes show even before the diagnosis of a malignancy.