[Renal cell carcinoma presenting as paraneoplastic neurological dysfunction].

INTRODUCTION

Malignant tumors sometimes initiate as paraneoplastic syndromes even years before the most common symptoms appear. These first manifestations could be the key for the diagnosis of "occult" malignancy.

METHODS

We report the case of a 66 year old man with a renal cell carcinoma. The first symptom was a paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration appeared 6 years before the first urologic manifestations.

CONCLUSIONS

A progressive cerebellar syndrome could be the first manifestation of a renal cell carcinoma, even years before the first urologic symptoms. We must suspect an occult neoplasia in such patients.