International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | September 2022 | Vol 10 | Issue 9 Page 2052
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Kumar A et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2022 Sep;10(9):2052-2055
www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012
Case Report
A rare case of paraneoplastic neurological syndrome with
ovarian teratoma
Anita Kumar, Anjali Dabral, Megha Panwar*, Bindu Bajaj, Sukanya Sanapala, Deepti Sharma
INTRODUCTION
Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) is defined as
the pathological involvement of the nervous system in the
course of malignancy. In case of ovarian malignancy, the
patient may present with neuropsychiatric symptoms prior
to the symptoms of ovarian neoplasm. Autoimmune
mechanism is suggested as the ovarian tissue and the
nervous tissue share some common antigens (eg- CDR2,
NMDAR). Antibody mediated immune response is
responsible for the neurological symptoms. The detection
of onconeural antibodies (eg- Anti-yo) strongly indicates
the presence of ovarian tumor in patients with neurological
deficit. Due to wide array of symptoms multidisciplinary
approach is required for PNS including surgery and
immunomodulation.
1
CASE REPORT
We are reporting a case of a 23-year-old married
nulliparous female who came to the gynaecology
OPD with a history of a mass per abdomen for past four
months and with gradual onset of gait disturbance,
dysphonia, memory loss and cognitive impairment for the
past five month. She was not able to perform her daily
activities without someone’s help. She had no prior history
of psychiatric or neurological condition. There was no
family history of psychological and psychiatric
complaints. No history of alcohol, drugs consumption or
smoking. History was given by her mother. She had taken
psychiatry and neurology consultation and was prescribed
medications but her symptoms were not relieved. She had
started complaining of abdominal pain also for which she
was brought to gynaecology OPD. On neurological
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi,
India
Received: 01 July 2022
Accepted: 30 July 2022
*Correspondence:
Dr. Megha Panwar,
E-mail: meghapanwar11@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) is a neuropathological disorder of central nervous system, in this the
patient presents with a tumor anywhere in the body with diverse neuropsychiatric symptoms. The clinical manifestation
of the tumor may be preceded by PNS. We are reporting a case of a 23-year-old married nulliparous female who came
to the gynaecology outpatient department (OPD) with the history of mass per abdomen for the past four months and
also undergoing treatment for acute psychosis, memory loss and cognitive impairment for the past five months. Her
symptoms were not relieved on treatment. After clinical, laboratory and radiological evaluation possibility of
paraneoplastic neurological syndrome associated with ovarian teratoma was made. Patient was taken up for staging
laparotomy with U/L salpingoophrectomy. After surgical treatment her psychiatric symptoms rapidly improved and her
psychiatric medications doses was reduced. PNS should be suspected in female patients presenting with an acute history
of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Tumor resection should be performed at the earliest to improve patient outcomes.
Keywords: Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes, Immature teratoma, Gliomatosis peritonei, Case report
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20222289