Rheumatoid-like polyarthritis as a presenting feature of metastatic carcinoma: a case presentation and review of the literature.

The case of a 69-year-old woman who presented with abrupt onset of rheumatoid-like symmetrical polyarthritis but who was subsequently diagnosed to have disseminated abdominal carcinomatosis is reported. The temporal relationship between the joint symptoms and the discovery of carcinoma suggested that the arthritis was a paraneoplastic manifestation of the latter. An underlying malignancy should always be looked for in elderly patients who present with explosive polyarthritis for the first time, particular if unexplained anaemia or constitutional symptoms persist after treatment.