ABSTRACT
Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes (PNS) are a rare heterogeneous group of disorders associated with malignancy that can result in significant functional impairment. One syndrome in particular, paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD), may be severely disabling. PCD is a rare neurological syndrome, associated with active or subclinical cancer, characterized by acute or subacute onset cerebellar ataxia due to tumor-induced autoimmunity against cerebellar antigens. Treatment of paraneoplastic syndromes is generally unsatisfactory, but early diagnosis and treatment of PCD, which includes neurological treatment, immunotherapy and oncological treatment of associated malignancy, may improve the neurological prognosis. We reported the case of a 59-year-old woman who presented PCD as the first sign of ovarian cancer. Laboratory investigations showed the presence of anti-Yo antibodies in the serum. The brain MRI revealed specific modifications for PCD. After oncological treatment, intravenous immunoglobulin therapy and corticosteroid therapy, the oncological response was satisfactory, but no improvement of the neurologic symptoms was achieved.
ABSTRACT
Recurrent vulvar squamous cell carcinoma with multiple site metastases is a rare entity - (up to 14.2% of the total number of recurrences), with a poor prognosis (only 15% of the patients alive at 5 years). Due to its "hard to find" character, there are no standardized guidelines available and the treatment is extrapolated from advanced cervical carcinoma, anal carcinoma and other squamous cell carcinomas. Immunotherapy has shown some positive results in vulvar carcinoma with PD-L1 positive, high TMB, high MSI or with MMR deficiency. An alternative for selected cases without therapeutic resources could be the HPV vaccine. We present the case of a 64-year-old woman diagnosed in 2014 with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma stage II for which she underwent radical vulvectomy with bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy followed by external radiotherapy. In 2019 she developed local recurrence associated with lung, pleural, lymph nodes and subcutaneous metastasis, treated with three lines of chemotherapy: paclitaxel/carboplatin followed by cisplatin/5-fluorouracil and carboplatin/gemcitabine. The patient's general health status altered progressively, and she died after the 4th cycle of carboplatin/gemcitabine. This case's management could be a starting point for the vulvar carcinoma cases where the standard therapeutical options do not represent a choice anymore, providing the necessary example on how to approach it.