Cancer emergencies and paraneoplastic syndromes

Abstract

The incidence of cancer is increasing as the general population ages and individual longevity grows. More patients with active malignancy are likely to come to the ED for care because of this increase, coupled with more intensive and varied treatments being applied in the outpatient setting. Many conditions that prompt these patients to come to the ED will not be due to cancer. Conversely, there are disorders often or uniquely related to malignancy that collectively are termed oncologic emergencies. These malignancy-related emergencies are broadly categorized as: (1) those due to local tumor effects, (2) those secondary to biochemical derangement, (3) those that are the result of hematologic derangement, and (4) those related to therapy.