Rheumatic disorders as paraneoplastic syndromes

Summary:
So your patient has a new rash and muscle ache, and is diagnosed by a rheumatologist as having dermatomyositis. Or, your patient has symmetrical polyarthritis, and is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. They have a poor response to first line therapy. Two years later they are found to have cancer. Then when the cancer is removed surgically and the patient treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy, their rheumatic disease disappears. This is the mysterious realm of paraneoplastic rheumatic syndromes, which can offer early warnings about growing neoplasms, and can also be a source of diagnostic deliberation.

Link:
Rheumatic disorders as paraneoplastic syndromes

Key points explored:
Why do some tumours produce rheumatic diseases?
What kind of neoplasms can provoke rheumatic paraneoplastic disease?
How can paraneoplastic rheumatic diseases be differentiated from typical cases?