Vasculitis as a paraneoplastic syndrome. Report of 11 cases and review of the literature.

In a study of 222 patients with vasculitis, we identified 11 who had an associated neoplasia. Seven had hematological neoplasia and 4 had solid malignant tumors. In 4 patients vasculitis gave the first evidence of the neoplasia or of its recurrence. Nine of our patients had cutaneous vasculitis. The other 2 had vasculitis involving the intestine and resulted in acute abdomens. These 2 patients needed prednisone treatment for the vasculitis. Neoplasia should be considered in patients with vasculitis without an apparent cause.