The great masquerader of malignancy: chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction

Small cell lung cancer associated small bowel obstruction, a diagnostic conundrum: A case report

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a neuroendocrine aggressive subtype of lung cancer, is associated with paraneoplastic disorders in about 9% of patients. In this report, we describe a middle-aged man who presented with chronic bowel obstruction caused by chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) due to SCLC.

Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration Associated with Breast Cancer: A Case Report and a Narrative Review

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNSs) are an uncommon complication of cancer, affecting nearby 1/10,000 subjects with a tumour. PNSs can involve all the central and peripheral nervous systems, the muscular system, and the neuromuscular junction, causing extremely variable symptomatology. The diagnosis of the paraneoplastic disease usually precedes the clinical manifestations of cancer, making an immediate recognition of the pathology crucial to obtain a better prognosis. PNSs are autoimmune diseases caused by the expression of common antigens by the tumour and the nervous system. Specific antibodies can help clinicians diagnose them, but unfortunately, they are not always detectable. Immunosuppressive therapy and the treatment of cancer are the cornerstones of therapy for PNSs. This paper reports a case of PNSs associated with breast tumours and focuses on the most common paraneoplastic neurological syndromes. We report a case of a young female with a clinical syndrome of the occurrence of rigidity in the right lower limb with postural instability with walking supported and diplopia, with a final diagnosis of paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration and seronegative rigid human syndrome associated with infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast.

Paraneoplastic Neurologic Disorders

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To provide an overview and highlight recent updates in the field of paraneoplastic neurologic disorders.

RECENT FINDINGS

The prevalence of paraneoplastic neurologic disorders is greater than previously reported and the incidence has been rising over time, due to improved recognition in the era of antibody biomarkers. Updated diagnostic criteria that are broadly inclusive and also contain diagnostic risk for clinical presentations (high and intermediate) and diagnostic antibodies (high, intermediate, and low) have replaced the original 2004 criteria. Antibody biomarkers continue to be characterized (e.g., KLHL-11 associated with seminoma in men with brainstem encephalitis). Some paraneoplastic antibodies also provide insight into likely immunotherapy response and prognosis. The rise of immune checkpoint inhibitors as cancer therapeutics has been associated with newly observed immune-mediated adverse effects including paraneoplastic neurological disorders. The therapeutic approach to paraneoplastic neurologic disorders is centered around cancer care and trials of immune therapy. The field of paraneoplastic neurologic disorders continues to be advanced by the identification of novel antibody biomarkers which have diagnostic utility, and give insight into likely treatment responses and outcomes.

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction: diagnostic and prognostic utility of ANNA-1/Anti-Hu onconeural antibodies

We propose an algorithm for the early detection of cancer from a case of paraneoplastic syndrome.

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction: diagnostic and prognostic utility of ANNA-1/Anti-Hu onconeural antibodies

A 65-year-old woman who, in the context of dyspepsia and dismotility, was diagnosed with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) in small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). In spite of a remarkable tumor response after the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, an intestinal sepsis led to the patient's sudden death.

Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction Due to Incidentally Found Thymoma

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a severe gastrointestinal tract disorder mimicking a bowel obstruction with no mechanical causes. Our patient presented with bowel obstruction symptoms, and a thymoma was incidentally found during the diagnostic workup. After failing conservative management, the patient underwent exploratory laparotomy that showed negative results for a mechanical cause of obstruction. Laboratory workup was suggestive of paraneoplastic syndrome, and the patient was started on steroids and pyridostigmine course with symptom resolution. Thus, in patients with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, paraneoplastic syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

Pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes

Introduction: Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) are a rare heterogeneous group of neurological diseases associated with tumors. These syndromes are the result of a cross-reactive immune response against antigens shared by the tumor and the nervous system. The discovery of an increasing number of autoantigens and the identification of tumoral factors leading to a substantial antitumoral immune response makes this topic highly innovative.Areas covered: This review covers the clinical, oncological, pathophysiological aspects of both immunological PNS groups. One is associated with autoantibodies against intracellular onconeural antibodies, which are highly specific for an underlying tumor, although the disease is mainly T-cell mediated. In contrast, PNS associated with pathogenic surface-binding/receptor autoantibodies, which are often responsive to immunosuppressive treatment, may manifest as paraneoplastic and non-paraneoplastic diseases. The most frequent tumors associated with PNS are (small cell) lung cancer, gynecological tumors, thymoma, lymphoma, and, in children, neuroblastoma. A special interest is given to PNS, induced by immune checkpoint-inhibitors (ICIs).Expert opinion: Research in PNS, including the group of ICI-induced PNS provide new insights in both the pathophysiology of PNS and tumor immune interactions and offers new treatment options for this group of severe neurological diseases.

Anti-CV2/CRMP5 antibody-positive paraneoplastic neurological syndromes with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in a small-cell lung cancer patient: a case report and literature review

Patients with anti-CV2/collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP)5 antibodies present with more frequent chorea, cerebellar ataxia, uveo/retinal symptoms, and Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome or myasthenia gravis. Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is an intestinal motility dysfunction disease dysmotility that is caused by a neuromuscular disease with recurrent or persistent intestinal obstruction in the absence of mechanical obstruction. We report the case of a patient with CRMP5 antibody-positive paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) that is associated with autonomic dysfunction (presenting most remarkably as CIPO). CIPO is one of the rarest forms of PNS. Some PNS patients who are positive for anti-CV2/CRMP5 antibodies may have fatal complications such as CIPO. To detect if PNS patients are at risk for CIPO, a timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment are required.

Paraneoplastic vs. non-paraneoplastic anti-Hu associated dysmotility: a case series and literature review

OBJECTIVES

This work aimed to report the demographic and clinical characteristics of two new cases with non-paraneoplastic anti-Hu-associated gut motility impairment, and perform a thorough revision covering anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic (PGID) and non-paraneoplastic (nPGID) gastrointestinal dysmotility.

BACKGROUND

Several case series have clearly established a relationship between certain type of cancers, the development of circulating anti-Hu antibodies, and the concomitant usually severe gastrointestinal dysmotility; in contrast, a few studies focused on anti-Hu-associated nPGID.

METHODS

We searched for studies regarding anti-Hu-associated gastrointestinal manifestations and extracted data concerning clinical characteristics of patients, including specific demographic, oncological, neurological, gastrointestinal, histological, and treatment response features.

RESULTS

Forty-nine articles with a total of 59 cases of anti-Hu-associated gastrointestinal dysmotility were analyzed. The patients' age at symptom onset significantly differed between PGID and nPGID (median 61 vs 31 years, p < 0.001). Most cancers (95%) in PGID were detected within 24 months from the beginning of gastrointestinal symptoms. The impairment of gastrointestinal motility was generalized (i.e., involving the whole gut) in 59.3% of patients, with no significant differences between PGID vs nPGID group. nPGID patients showed a better response to immunomodulatory/immunosuppressive treatment and a longer life expectancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Anti-Hu-associated gastrointestinal dysmotility covers a wide clinical spectrum. Patients with otherwise unexplained gastrointestinal dysmotility, especially when associated with other neurological symptoms, should be tested for anti-Hu antibodies regardless age of onset and disease duration. Compared to PGID, nPGID occurs in younger patients with a long duration of disease.

Pseudo-obstruction, enteric dysmotility and irritable bowel syndrome

New diagnostic techniques have advanced our knowledge about the irritable bowel syndrome. The majority of patients that we believed to have a psychosomatic disorder have received other diagnoses explaining their symptoms. Endoscopy makes it possible to diagnose celiac disease before it leads to malnutrition and allows the detection of microscopic colitis as a cause of watery diarrhea. At the severe end of the symptom spectrum enteric dysmotility marks the border at which IBS ceases to be a functional disorder and becomes a genuine motility disorder. Joint hypermobility or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is present in a substantial proportion of patients with enteric dysmotility. Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction is the end-stage of a large number of very rare disorders in which failed peristalsis is the common denominator. Nutritional needs and symptom control are essential in the management of pseudo-obstruction. Home parenteral nutrition is life saving in more than half of patients with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction.

Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-obstruction and Orthostatic Hypotension Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer that Improved with Tumor Reduction after Chemoradiotherapy

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a rare disease with symptoms of ileus without obstruction. Most cases of CIPO are idiopathic, and CIPO as a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) associated with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is rare. A 63-year-old man was diagnosed with functional ileus and confined to bed due to orthostatic hypotension. Chest computed tomography revealed a right hilar mass suspected of being lung cancer. Based on detailed examinations, he was diagnosed with limited-stage SCLC. His symptoms were confirmed as PNS because his serum anti-Hu antibody was positive. His PNS was improved with complete tumor reduction by chemoradiotherapy.

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in children and adults: diagnosis and therapeutic options

BACKGROUND

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) represents the most severe form of gastrointestinal dysmotility with debilitating and potentially lethal consequences. Symptoms can be non-specific, and result in this condition being diagnosed incorrectly or too late with consequences for morbidity and even mortality.

PURPOSE

The present article aims to provide pediatric and adult gastroenterologists with an up to date review about clinical features, diagnosis and therapeutic options for CIPO. Although pediatric and adult CIPO share many clinical aspects distinctive features can be identified. There is no single diagnostic test or pathognomonic finding of CIPO, thus a stepwise approach including radiology, endoscopy, laboratory, manometry, and histopathology should be considered in the diagnostic work-up. Treatment of patients with CIPO is challenging and requires a multidisciplinary effort with participation of appropriately experienced gastroenterologists, pathologists, dieticians, surgeons, psychologists, and other subspecialists based on the presence of comorbidities. Current treatment options invariably involve surgery and specialized nutritional support, especially in children. Medical therapies are mainly aimed to avoid complications such as sepsis or intestinal bacterial overgrowth and, where possible, restore intestinal propulsion. More efficacious therapeutic options are eagerly awaited for such difficult patients.

CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are both needed to induce paraneoplastic neurological disease in a mouse model

Paraneoplastic neurological disorders (PNDs) are rare human autoimmune diseases that mostly affect the central nervous system (CNS). They are triggered by an efficient immune response against a neural self-antigen that is ectopically expressed in neoplastic tumors. Due to this shared antigenic expression, the immune system reacts not only to tumor cells but also to neural cells resulting in neurological damage. Growing data point to a major role of cell-mediated immunity in PNDs associated to autoantibodies against intracellular proteins. However, its precise contribution in the pathogenesis remains unclear. In this context, our study aimed at investigating the impact of anti-tumor cellular immune responses in the development of PND. To this end, we developed an animal model mimicking PND. We used a tumor cell line expressing the hemagglutinin (HA) of influenza virus to induce an anti-tumor response in CamK-HA mice, which express HA in CNS neurons. To promote and track the T cell response against the HA antigen, naïve HA-specific CD8+ and/or CD4+ T cells, originating from TCR-transgenic animals, were transferred into these mice. We demonstrate that HA-expressing tumors, but not control tumors, induce in vivo activation, proliferation and differentiation of naïve HA-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells into effector cells. Moreover, both T cell subsets were needed to control tumor growth and induce CNS inflammation in CamK-HA mice. Thus, this new mouse model provides further insight into the cellular mechanisms whereby a potent anti-tumor immunity triggers a cancer-associated autoimmune disease, and may therefore help to develop new therapeutic strategies against PND.