Paraneoplastic Ischemic Stroke: Case Report and Review

OBJECTIVE: Paraneoplastic etiology is not frequent among cerebrovascular disorders. This rare disorder is interesting with different mechanisms, clinical manifestations and treatment options. Diagnosis may be overlooked for its rarity. We present a paraneoplastic ischemic stroke patient with its clinical and imaging characteristics for recalling this rare disease.
CASE: A sixty years old woman with a history of ovarian and colon cancer and liver metastasis admitted with acute left sided hemiplegia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple ischemic lesions at the same age. Laboratory findings were compatible with chronic disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. She was anticoagulated but the clinical findings were not changed. She died one month after her discharge from the hospital.
CONCLUSIONS: Paraneoplastic ischemic stroke is rare and it should be recognized by the clinician to differentiate from other ischemic strokes by its different mechanisms, imaging characteristics and treatment modalities. Prognosis depends on the characteristics of the primary tumor.