Ovarian cancer and late onset paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration

Paraneoplastic cerebellar syndrome (PCD) is a rare, neurological disorder that primarily emerges before the detection of malignancy. We present a case involving a 52-year-old woman who was diagnosed and treated for primary ovarian cancer in 2005. In 2007, the patient exhibited ataxia, dysarthria and peripheral neuropathy. Following neurological assessment and immunologic testing, the diagnosis of PCD was made. The disease typically precedes the detection of malignancy by a year or more and has been documented in only a few cases following the treatment for ovarian cancer.