Immunopathogenesis of ophthalmological paraneoplastic syndromes: Recent findings

Adv Clin Exp Med. 2018 Oct;27(10):1431-1439. doi: 10.17219/acem/73860.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to summarize the current knowledge of paraneoplastic syndromes involving eyes. The main interest was the immunopathogenesis of the abovementioned entities. A web search was conducted using Medline, Web of Science and Scopus engines. Key words concerning ocular paraneoplastic syndromes (OPS) such as: "ocular paraneoplastic syndrome", "cancer-associated retinopathy", "cancer-associated cone dysfunction", "melanoma-associated retinopathy", "bilateral diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation", and "paraneoplastic optic neuritis" were combined with "immunology", "immune response", "antibodies", or "autoantibodies". Numerous papers were found as a result of "ocular paraneoplastic syndrome" search and many of them matched the chosen criteria. We focused on the most recent papers - published in the last 5 years - and eventually, 92 items were found. Only several papers from each detailed category fulfilled both OPS and immunologic criteria. Site-specific paraneoplastic syndromes still remain a difficult clinical challenge. The immunopathogenesis of some of them seems to be more complex than previously thought.

Keywords: immunopathogenesis; ophthalmologic findings; optic neuropathy; paraneoplastic retinopathy; paraneoplastic syndrome.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Autoantibodies
  • Eye Neoplasms* / immunology
  • Eye Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Orbital Neoplasms
  • Paraneoplastic Syndromes
  • Paraneoplastic Syndromes, Ocular* / immunology
  • Paraneoplastic Syndromes, Ocular* / pathology
  • Retinal Diseases* / immunology
  • Retinal Diseases* / pathology

Substances

  • Autoantibodies