cancer
Paraneoplastic Syndromes
Neurologic syndromes
 Polyneuropathy is a dysfunction of peripheral nerves (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord), resulting in weakness, loss of sensation, and reduced reflexes. Subacute sensory neuropathy is a rare form of polyneuropathy that sometimes develops before the cancer is diagnosed. It causes a disabling loss of sensation and incoordination but little weakness. Subacute cerebellar degeneration occurs rarely in patients with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, small cell carcinoma of the lung, or other solid tumors. This disorder may be caused by an autoantibody (an antibody that attacks the body's own tissues) that destroys the cerebellum. Symptoms can include unsteadiness in walking, incoordination of the arms and legs, difficulty speaking, dizziness, and double vision. Symptoms may appear before the cancer is detected. Uncontrollable eye movements (opsoclonus) and quick contractions of the arms and legs (myoclonus) can occur in some children with neuroblastoma. Subacute motor neuronopathy occurs in some people with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The nerve cells of the spinal cord are affected, weakening the arms and legs. A variety of unusual symptoms may result from antibodies directed against the tumor that also interact with brain tissue to cause a change in mental function, disorientation, vision changes, and muscle weakness. Eaton-Lambert Syndrome occurs in some people with small cell carcinoma of the lung. This syndrome is characterized by extreme muscle weakness caused by lack of proper activation of the muscle by the nerve. Subacute necrotizing myelopathy is a rare syndrome in which rapid loss of neurons in the spinal cord leads to paralysis. 