Subacute sensorimotor neuropathy accompanied by anti-ganglioside gm1 antibody in a patient with lung cancer

Abstract

A 66-year-old man presented with subacute sensorimotor neuropathy in association with small cell lung cancer. Tests for the anti-ganglioside antibody GM1-IgM were positive. Chemotherapy and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment led to a slight improvement in neurological symptoms. Four additional cases of neuropathy accompanied by anti-ganglioside antibody and lung cancer have been reported. The most commonly reported pattern was subacute sensorimotor neuropathy. Patients died from cancer progression after 5 to 18 months. There is evidence that anti-ganglioside antibody inhibits tumor progression, prolonging the patient survival. However, severe neurological disturbance may offset the survival benefit of anti-ganglioside antibody in patients with paraneoplastic neurological syndrome.