Conclusion
In conclusion, paraneoplastic arthritis is a rare initial presentation of malignancy. The presence of arthritis in the absence of a known malignancy can be easily confused with a primary rheumatic condition. This ultimately leads to a delay in the diagnosis of an underlying primary malignancy. Hence, it is important to consider paraneoplastic arthritis in patients who present atypically, develop constitutional symptoms or respond poorly to standard DMARD therapy.
Abbreviations
SpA: Spondyloarthropathy; RA: Rheumatoid arthritis; SLE: Systemic lupus erythematosus; DMARDs: Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; NSAIDs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; ANA: Antinuclear antibody; RF: Rheumatoid factor; MCPJ: Metacarpophalangeal joints; PIPJ: Proximal interphalangeal joints; ESR: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate; SSZ: Sulfasalazine; HPE: Histopathological examination; CT: Computed tomography.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Director of Health Malaysia for permission to publish this paper.
Funding
No funding was used for this study.
Availability of data and materials
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
This study was conducted in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent for publication
Written informed consent was obtained from the patients for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.
J Med Case Reports. 2021;15(94) © 2021 BioMed Central, Ltd.
