[Paraneoplasic cerebellar degeneration as a presentation of breast cancer recurrence]. / Degeneración cerebelosa paraneoplasica como presentación de una recidiva de carcinoma de mama.

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a rare condition which is characterised by global cerebellar dysfunction. Patients may present with these syndromes months or years before the diagnosis of underlying malignancy is established. Less often, PCD occurs in patients with a known malignancy or heralds the onset of a recurrence. The presence of specific antibodies in serum simples helps to guide identification the occult malignancy. We report here the case of a PCD in 74-year-old lady underwent a left mastectomy for breast cancer 5 years ago. She remained well until now. The diagnosis of the primary tumor, that is clinically undetectable with conventional imaging processes, is preformed with the aid of positron mission tomography (PET) to detect the presence of abdominal lymph node metastases. We briefly review the clinical and laboratory features of this syndrome, and emphasize the importance of its prompt recognition, which many times makes possible the early detection and treatment of the primary disorder.

Degeneración cerebelosa paraneoplásica como presentación de una recidiva de carcinoma de mama / Paraneoplatic cerebellar degeneration as a presentation of breast cancer recurrence

La degeneración cerebelosa paraneoplasica (DCP) es un síndrome paraneoplásico poco frecuente que se caracteriza por disfunción cerebelosa global. La DCP a menudo precede meses o años a una neoplasia potencialmente curable, con menos frecuencia ocurre en pacientes con neoplasia conocida o indica recurrencia. La presencia de anticuerpos específicos en suero ayuda a guiar la identificación de una neoplasia oculta. Comunicamos el caso de una paciente de 74 años que presentó disfunción cerebelosa. Había sido diagnosticada de carcinoma ductal de mama hacia 5 años, permaneciendo asintomática hasta entonces. Con la pruebas de imagen convencionales no fue posible detectar recidiva tumoral, el diagnóstico se realizó con la ayuda de la tomografía con emisión de positrones que detectó adenopatías abdominales. Revisamos brevemente las características clínicas de este síndrome, remarcando la importancia de un rápido reconocimiento del síndrome, que en muchas ocasiones permite una rápida detección y tratamiento de la enfermedad primaria

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a rare condition which is characterised by global cerebellar dysfunction. Patients may present with these syndromes months or years before the diagnosis of underlying malignancy is established. Less often, PCD occurs in patients with a known malignancy or heralds the onset of a recurrence. The presence of specific antibodies in serum simples helps to guide identification the occult malignancy. We report here the case of a PCD in 74-year-old lady underwent a left mastectomy for breast cancer 5 years ago. She remained well until now. The diagnosis of the primary tumor, that is clinically undetectable with conventional imaging processes, is preformed with the aid of positron mission tomography (PET) to detect the presence of abdominal lymph node metastases. We briefly review the clinical and laboratory features of this syndrome, and emphasize the importance of its prompt recognition, which many times makes possible the early detection and treatment of the primary disorder