Case Report
Volume: 8 | Issue: 3 | Published: Apr 13, 2024 | Pages: 44 - 46 | DOI: 10.24911/ejmcr.173-1685921237
A malignancy phantom: a rare clinical case report of metastatic renal cell carcinoma with no evidence of a primary lesion presenting as cerebellar ataxia
Authors: Husam Farraj , Kamelah Abushalha , Husam Bader , Mitchel F. Peabody , Claudia Kroker-Bode
Article Info
Authors
Husam Farraj
Department of Internal Medicine, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Florida State University School of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Kamelah Abushalha
Department of Internal Medicine, MetroWest Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA
Husam Bader
Department of Internal Medicine, Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Mitchel F. Peabody
Department of Hemato-Oncology, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Florida State University School of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Claudia Kroker-Bode
Department of Internal Medicine, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Florida State University School of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Publication History
Received: June 04, 2023
Accepted: November 28, 2023
Published: April 13, 2024
Abstract
Background: Anti-Ma2 antibody associated paraneoplastic syndrome (PNS) usually presents as limbic encephalitis in the context of testicular tumors. We report a rare case of anti-Ma2 positive PNS with deviation from the classic scenario, thus expanding the phenotype of anti-ma2 associated PNS. Case presentation: This is a 53-year-old male who presented with what was later diagnosed as anti-Ma2 antibody positive cerebellar ataxia. Further workup revealed retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy which, using biopsy, was identified as metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, imaging did not reveal a primary renal lesion. Conclusion: Physicians should be aware of non-classic presentations of paraneoplastic syndromes, especially given that they commonly precede and point towards an underlying, many times undiagnosed, malignancy.
Keywords: Para-neoplastic Syndrome, Renal-cell Carcinoma, Cerebellar Ataxia, Tumor Regression, Case Report, green
