Diagnosis and treatment of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes

Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndromes: Study of Prevalence in a Province of the Lombardy Region, Italy

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNSs) are a heterogeneous group of rare immune-mediated diseases associated with cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of PNSs in the province of Brescia. PNS prevalence was calculated using the Lombardy regional hospital admission records from 1998 to 2003. We used the website "Epidemiologic and Economic Atlas of Hospital Activities in Lombardy" and the "International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems". In the province of Brescia, we found 54 cases of PNSs, 29 with subacute neuropathies, five with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration and 20 with encephalomyelitis. Peripheral nervous system diseases were the most frequent neurological disorders. In Lombardy, the number of PNS patients admitted was 322 (133 with encephalomyelitis, 21 with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration, 166 with polyneuropathies and two with optic degeneration). In Lombardy, the prevalence of PNSs was 25 in 100,000 hospital admissions and 5.92 in 100,000 for the Lombardy population. Our results show a discrete presence of PNS patients in the province of Brescia and in the Lombardy region as a whole.

A pilot study on neurological manifestations and antibodies against antigens in children with hematological and other cancers

BACKGROUND

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) are most commonly recognized in adults with cancer and can often be identified by the presence of serum antibodies to neuronal proteins that are also expressed by the associated tumor. In children: (a) little emphasis is given to the possibility of paraneoplastic neurological involvement; and (b) few studies investigated the presence of anti-neuronal antibodies.

OBJECTIVE

To run a pilot study on the spectrum of PNS and presence of antibodies to neural antigens in children with malignancies.

METHODS

23 children (7 boys; 16 girls, aged 4 months to 16 years) with hematological or other cancers were examined for neurological manifestations and for antibodies to the neuronal antigens that are frequently detected in adult patients with PNS.

RESULTS

Ten of the 23 children had neurological symptoms (and/or positive antibodies): in 6/10 neurological manifestations could be explained by tumor invasion or chemotoxicity or were probably incidental; a child with neuroblastoma developed opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome without detectable anti-neuronal antibodies; antibodies to a Tr-like cerebellar antigen [associated to no neurological signs and later enuresis], to voltage-gated potassium channels [associated to sensory signs] and to glutamic acid decarboxylase [associated to multifocal myoclonus] were found in one child each. Results were compared with age- and sex-matched control groups.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that PNS, though surprisingly not so uncommon in children, may be associated with immune responses to distinct neuronal antigens. Further work is needed to determine whether screening for new antibodies to neuronal antigens could be a useful aid in the diagnosis and prognosis of neurological syndromes in children.

Close temporal relationship between onset of cancer and scleroderma in patients with RNA polymerase I/III antibodies

OBJECTIVE

This study was undertaken to examine the temporal relationship between scleroderma development and malignancy, and to evaluate whether this differs by autoantibody status among affected patients.

METHODS

Study participants had a diagnosis of scleroderma, a diagnosis of cancer, cancer, an available serum sample, and a cancer pathology specimen. Sera were tested for autoantibodies against topoisomerase I, centromere, and RNA polymerase I/III by immunoprecipitation and/or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical and demographic characteristics were compared across autoantibody categories. Expression of RNA polymerases I and III was evaluated by immunohistochemistry using cancerous tissue from patients with anti-RNA polymerase antibodies.

RESULTS

Twenty-three patients were enrolled. Six patients tested positive for anti-RNA polymerase I/III, 5 for anti-topoisomerase I, and 8 for anticentromere, and 4 were not positive for any of these antigens. The median duration of scleroderma at cancer diagnosis differed significantly between groups (-1.2 years in the anti-RNA polymerase I/III group, +13.4 years in the anti-topoisomerase I group, +11.1 years in the anticentromere group, and +2.3 years in the group that was negative for all antigens tested) (P = 0.027). RNA polymerase III demonstrated a robust nucleolar staining pattern in 4 of 5 available tumors from patients with antibodies to RNA polymerase I/III. In contrast, nucleolar RNA polymerase III staining was not detected in any of 4 examined tumors from the RNA polymerase antibody-negative group (P = 0.048).

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that there is a close temporal relationship between the onset of cancer and scleroderma in patients with antibodies to RNA polymerase I/III, which is distinct from scleroderma patients with other autoantibody specificities. In this study, autoantibody response and tumor antigen expression are associated. We propose that malignancy may initiate the scleroderma-specific immune response and drive disease in a subset of scleroderma patients.