Hematological and biochemical paraneoplastic disorders

Paraneoplastic disorders (PNDs) are remote effects of tumors that are unrelated to the size, location, metastases, or physiological activities of mature tissue of origin. Some of these disorders, such as fever and anemia, have been known for a long time. Other disorders, such as lymphopenia and low serum cholesterol levels, have been described only recently. In a study of 900 patients, including two control groups, some of the PNDs were demonstrated to be good indicators for diagnosis and prognosis in cases of cancer. A number of these disorders, however, may occur in patients suffering from terminal diseases other than cancer.