| abstract | - Paraneoplastic syndromes are diseases or symptoms that are the consequence of a cancer in the body, but are unrelated to the local presence of actual cancer cells. They have one of two major causes:
* The release of hormones or cytokines by the tumor cells; and
* A response by the immune system to the tumor Paraneoplastic syndromes are more common in older patients, and tend to occur mostly in patients who are middle age and older. They are also more common with certain types of cancer than others. Cancers of the lungs, breasts, ovaries and lymphatic system are more likely to cause such conditions. In some cases, the syndromes caused by a faulty immune system response will present with symptoms before the cancer becomes malignant and starts exhibiting its own symptoms. However, both malignant and benign tumors can have associated paraneoplastic syndromes. Paraneoplastic syndromes are fairly common on House, M.D., occurring in many epiosodes where cancer is the final diagnosis. However, many critics of the series, including the popular medical blog about House Polite Dissent, have noted that paraneoplastic syndromes, which are in any event rare even when a patient has cancer (roughly 1% of cancer patients exhibit such syndromes), are too often used as a way of explaining the patient's symptoms that can't be explained by the underlying cancer.
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