Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration as the first manifestation of cancer

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a type of paraneoplastic sy ndrome that primarily affects women with gynecological cancers. Patients ty pically experience pancerebellar symptoms, including gait ataxia, dysarthri a, nystagmus, and truncal and appendicular ataxia. We present the case of a 50-year-old woman with PCD and presumed ovarian cancer who initially compl ained of ataxia and dysarthria. PCD was diagnosed on the basis of her sympt oms, diagnostic imaging, and laboratory work. PCD symptoms may precede the diagnosis of malignancy by months or years. Early diagnosis and treatment o f these syndromes, including rehabilitation, may result in improvements in quality of life for this population of patients.