What are the causes and symptoms of paraneoplastic syndrome?
Causes
Cancerous tumors often release substances, such as proteins or hormones. These substances disrupt the functions of certain organs in your body. You may not experience some symptoms of the syndrome if you don’t have cancer. The damage caused by the proteins or hormones may be permanent or temporary.
In most cases, you develop paraneoplastic syndromes because your body’s immune system unintentionally damages healthy tissue. Your immune system produces a substance known as antibodies. The antibodies protect you from foreign invaders and abnormal cells, such as cancer cells. The antibodies may misinterpret the instructions of your immune system. When this happens, they attack your healthy cells and tissues resulting in paraneoplastic syndrome.