Paraneoplastic Guillain-Barre Syndrome: A case report and call for modified diagnostic criteria

For nearly 20 years, the diagnosis of a paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome has been guided by the diagnostic criteria proposed by Graus et al. in 2004. This study provided a compilation of objective data and a standardized vocabulary regarding neurologic symptoms in the setting of malignancy. A recent article written by Zoccarato et al. in October 2021 updates the objective data and acknowledges the rise in neurologic symptoms in malignancy but attributes them to therapies and does not suggest any changes in the diagnostic criteria based on their review. In this case report we describe a 25 year old female who presents with Guillain Barre syndrome and is subsequently found to have Hodkgin’s lymphoma, a case that meets the criteria for only a “possible” paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome under current guidelines. We will discuss the ways in which this criteria could be modified for the benefit of the patient and their providers and ensure necessary associations are made between neurologic syndromes and malignancy in the future.