Small cell lung cancer associated with anti-Hu paraneoplastic sensory neuropathy and peripheral nerve microvasculitis: case report and literature review.

A 53-year-old man presented with an 8-week history of upper and lower limb paraesthesia. Neurological examination revealed a glove and stocking distribution of sensory loss. Sural nerve biopsy showed severe axonal neuropathy associated with microvasculitis. Positron-emission tomography and thoracic computed tomography helped in localising the underlying malignancy. A transbronchial biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). Neuroimmunological studies identified anti-Hu antibodies and confirmed a paraneoplastic aetiology for his neuropathy. Treatment of small cell lung cancer with carboplatin and etoposide resulted in significant improvement of neurological symptoms. We report a case of a patient with SCLC and anti-Hu paraneoplastic sensory neuropathy with microvasculitis, and discuss the literature on prognosis of patients with SCLC with paraneoplastic neurological syndromes compared with patients with SCLC only.