A paraneoplastic syndrome can present with cerebellar degeneration, limbic encephalitis, and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome as an immune reaction to cancer. What is this group of disorders collectively called?

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Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are immune-mediated disorders that arise in response to a cancer. The tumor expresses antigens that resemble neural proteins, so the body's immune reaction against the tumor also targets parts of the nervous system. This can produce a variety of neurologic problems, including cerebellar degeneration (ataxia), limbic encephalitis (memory impairment and seizures), and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (proximal weakness with autonomic features). They are distinct from infectious encephalopathy or ischemic stroke, and while some autoimmune encephalitides can be associated with cancer, the defining feature here is the cancer-triggered immune attack on neural tissue.