Tjalma syndrome in late-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

Tjalma syndrome, also named pseudo-pseudo Meigs syndrome, is a rare complication of serositis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It is associated with a high level of the ovarian tumor marker CA-125 and pleural effusion and ascites, which can suggest an ovarian tumor (benign or malignant), in patients with SLE. Available literature data include case reports of female patients with SLE ranging in age from 14 to 82. Patients under 50 years of age predominate. Our own experience led us to analyze the observations in this review against the background of our experience with a female patient with late-onset SLE. This review discusses why exploration of paraneoplastic syndrome can delay immunosuppressive therapy for this serious SLE manifestation. The main goal of this case-based review is to compare the clinical and laboratory findings of our patient with those reported in the literature and to raise awareness of this rare entity.