Tags: Disease.
A paraneoplastic syndrome is a disease or symptom that is the consequence of cancer in the body but unlike mass effect is not due to the local presence of cancer cells. These phenomena are mediated by humoral factors (by hormones or cytokines) excreted by tumor cells or by an immune response against the tumor. Paraneoplastic syndromes are typical among middle aged to older patients and they most commonly present with cancers of the lung breast ovaries or lymphatic system (a lymphoma).