Progressive Global Ataxia With Sensory Changes as a Paraneoplastic Syndrome in a Patient With Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma

Cureus. 2022 May 11;14(5):e24913. doi: 10.7759/cureus.24913. eCollection 2022 May.

Abstract

Paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) are rare and can be challenging to diagnose and treat. The uniqueness of PNS lies in the complexity of presentation, the importance of early diagnosis, and the role of multidisciplinary care in managing those patients to mitigate long-term neurologic complications. We describe a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who presented with a complex constellation of neurological symptoms (progressive global ataxia and sensory changes) that did not resolve following nephrectomy. While complete resolution of symptoms was not achieved, he did have stabilization of his neurologic decline with the initiation of cancer-directed therapies.

Keywords: chromophobe renal carcinoma; global ataxia; multidisciplinary cancer care; paraneoplastic neurological syndromes; renal cell carcinoma (rcc).

Publication types

  • Case Reports