Paraneoplastic Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder Associated with Atypical Thymic Carcinoid: A Case Report

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, occasionally accompanied by malignant tumors. Immunosuppressive therapy is the mainstay treatment for idiopathic NMOSD; no guidelines have been published for paraneoplastic NMOSD because it is rarely reported in th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2022, Vol.28(5), pp.362-365
Main Authors: Mitsui, Suguru, Tanaka, Yugo, Kimura, Kenji, Jimbo, Naoe, Chihara, Norio, Maniwa, Yoshimasa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Report
paraneoplastic syndrome
thymic cancer
thymothymectomy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, occasionally accompanied by malignant tumors. Immunosuppressive therapy is the mainstay treatment for idiopathic NMOSD; no guidelines have been published for paraneoplastic NMOSD because it is rarely reported in the literature. We report a rare case of a 67-year-old man with paraneoplastic NMOSD associated with thymic carcinoid whose cells expressed aquaporin-4 antibody. After surgical resection, the patient’s symptoms improved, and serum aquaporin-4 autoantibody turned negative. We believe that radiographic examination for mediastinal tumors in patients with NMOSD is necessary because thymic epithelial tumors could have a role in the pathogenesis of paraneoplastic NMOSD. After mediastinal tumor has been detected, they should be surgically resected to improve neurological symptoms.
ISSN:1341-1098
2186-1005
DOI:10.5761/atcs.cr.20-00354