Cerebellar dysfunction in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma: immunological investigations.

Sera from seven patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and cerebellar dysfunction were tested for anti-Purkinje cell antibodies (APCA) by indirect immunofluorescence and indirect immunoperoxidase reaction. Specific APCA as described in paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) were not detected in any of these patients or in control patients. The lack of APCA in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and their presence in association with ovarian or breast cancer indicate that different pathogenetic mechanisms may play a role in PCD.