Life-threatening neurological complications in patients with malignancies

Abstract

A growing number of patients with malignancies experience infectious and toxic complications related to their disease or to its treatment. The population of patients likely to require medical attention for malignant disease is expanding for three reasons: 1) The incidence of cancer is rising [1, 2], survival of patients with malignancies is improving as a result of new treatments and management strategies [2], and 3) life expectancy has increased in older individuals, patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and patients treated with anticancer medications or immunosuppressants [3, 4]. © 2009 Springer-Verlag New York.