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. 2022 Mar;13(6):804-810.
doi: 10.1111/1759-7714.14323. Epub 2022 Feb 7.

SCLC and anti-GABABR encephalitis: A retrospective analysis of 60 cases in China

Chunguo Jiang  1 , Min Zhu  1 , Dan Wei  2 , Hongyan Duan  3 , Yuhui Zhang  1 , Xiaokai Feng  1
Affiliations

SCLC and anti-GABABR encephalitis: A retrospective analysis of 60 cases in China

Chunguo Jiang et al. Thorac Cancer. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Anti-gamma aminobutyric acid B receptor (anti-GABABR) encephalitis is a rare autoimmune neurological syndrome observed in lung cancer patients. More research on the clinical characteristics of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and anti-GABABR encephalitis should be carried out to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics, auxiliary examination results, and treatment responses in patients with SCLC and anti-GABABR encephalitis at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital from January 2010 to December 2020. The study also retrospectively analyzed cases of SCLC and anti-GABABR encephalitis well documented in China.

Results: A total of 60 cases of SCLC and anti-GABABR encephalitis were analyzed in the study, two in our hospital, and 58 previously reported in the literature. The male:female ratio was 3:1, with a median age at presentation of 61 years (range: 40-81 years). Twenty-eight patients initially presented with seizures, four with cognitive disorder, and three with psychiatric symptoms. The major symptoms were epileptic seizures (n = 56; 96.9%), cognitive impairment (n = 47; 81.0%), psychiatric disorders (n = 45; 77.6%), and conscious disturbance (n = 32; 55.2%). Fifty-five patients underwent immunotherapy, and 23 patients underwent oncologic treatment in the literature. After a median follow-up duration of 8.8 (range, 0.5-37.0) months, nine patients showed good outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score, mRS ≤2), eight patients showed poor prognosis (mRS > 2), and 18 patients died.

Conclusions: The clinical characteristics of SCLC and anti-GABABR encephalitis are seizures, cognitive impairment, and psychiatric disorders which affect middle-aged to elderly men in China. The long-term prognosis is relatively poor.

Keywords: anti-GABABR encephalitis; limbic encephalitis; small cell lung cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Chest CT, brain MRI, and bronchoscopic images of a 76‐year‐old male patient. (a) Chest CT showed one mass in the hilus of the right lung on the pulmonary window image. (b) Bronchoscopy showed a soft tissue mass in the upper lobe of the right lung. (c) Coronal sections of brain MRI FLAIR showed a high signal in the left hippocampus. (d) Chest CT showed the mass had significantly reduced after chemotherapy. CT, computed tomography; FLAIR, fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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