Remote neurologic manifestations of cancer

In patients with or without a known cancer diagnosis, a number of clinical neurologic syndromes should raise suspicion for a paraneoplastic disorder. For some of these disorders, the presence of specific autoantibodies is a useful diagnostic marker. The actual immunopathogenetic mechanisms for most paraneoplastic syndromes are still unclear. Although many patients affected by paraneoplastic disorders suffer severe and permanent neurologic deficits, a significant number of patients benefits from prompt diagnosis and aggressive treatment.