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CASE REPORT
Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration secondary to ovarian carcinosarcoma: a cerebellar conundrum
  1. Julian David Birch1,
  2. Arup Sen2,
  3. Katherine Rowland2,
  4. Tatyana Viner2
  1. 1Acute Medicine and Rehabilitation Directorate, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
  2. 2Princes Plain Clinic, Bromley Healthcare, Bromley, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Julian David Birch, jdbirch{at}doctors.org.uk

Summary

We present a case of an elderly female patient who presented with a 6-month history of progressive slurred speech, vertigo, unsteadiness and falls. She underwent an extensive battery of neurological and cardiovascular investigations, none of which demonstrated a diagnostic cause for her symptoms. She was referred to the stroke and neurology teams and was started on treatment for presumed anxiety. As her symptoms continued to progress, she was referred to the falls service. Following a multidisciplinary team discussion, she was reviewed by the consultant geriatrician who felt this may be due to a malignancy so the consultant geriatrician arranged blood testsand CT scan of her chest, abdomen and pelvis. These demonstrated a large left adnexal mass and a raised Ca-125 level. The patient was diagnosed with an ovarian tumour, which was treated surgically. A provisional diagnosis of paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration, secondary to ovarian carcinosarcoma, was made.

  • gynecological cancer
  • brain stem / cerebellum
  • movement disorders (other than parkinsons)
  • geriatric medicine
  • neurology

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Footnotes

  • Contributors The patient was reviewed in clinic by TV and KR. She was reviewed subsequently by JDB and AS as an inpatient, then subsequently in clinic. The manuscript was written by JDB with input from all authors. All authors have reviewed and altered the manuscript and its subsequent revisions. All authors agreed on the final version prior to submission.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.