[Diagnostics and treatment of clinically relevant paraneoplastic syndromes]

Paraneoplastic syndromes (PS) are rare disorders with often complex clinical manifestations that occur in association with a tumor without being triggered by direct tumor invasion or compression. They arise from tumor secretions of hormones, peptides or cytokines or from immune cross-reactivity between malignant and healthy tissue. They are categorized into endocrine, neurological, dermatological, rheumatological, and hematological PS. The PS most commonly occurs in small cell lung carcinoma but also in association with other respiratory tract tumors, gynecological tumors, and hematological malignancies. The PS can precede a tumor diagnosis, therefore timely diagnosis can improve the prognosis of a malignant disease. The diagnostics are based on the clinical presentation as well as diagnostic methods depending on the underlying pathogenesis. The most important treatment approach involves the best possible treatment of the tumor and a targeted treatment is only sometimes possible. This review focuses on the clinically most frequently encountered PS.