Which paraneoplastic syndrome is characterized by temporal lobe inflammation, amnesia, irritability, and complex partial seizures and is most commonly associated with gynecologic cancers, lymphoma, or small cell lung cancer?

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Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis is an autoimmune syndrome in which the immune system targets limbic system structures, especially the medial temporal regions like the hippocampus and amygdala, due to cancer-related antigens. This leads to subacute onset of memory impairment (amnesia), mood and personality changes ( irritability), and seizures that often have a temporal-lobe or complex partial pattern. The temporal lobe focus explained by limbic involvement accounts for both the memory problems and the seizure type described. This condition is classically associated with cancers such as gynecologic cancers, lymphoma, and small cell lung cancer, which is why it fits the vignette better than other paraneoplastic encephalitides.

In contrast, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, while it can cause seizures and psychiatric symptoms, typically presents with prominent psychiatric manifestations and movement or autonomic symptoms and is often linked to ovarian teratoma; cerebellar degeneration presents with ataxia rather than temporal-lobe–predominant symptoms; Lambert-Eaton affects the neuromuscular junction with proximal weakness rather than encephalitis.