What cancers cause paralysis?
Spinal tumors or growths of any kind can lead to pain, neurological problems and sometimes paralysis. A spinal tumor can be life-threatening and cause permanent disability. Treatment for a spinal tumor may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or other medications.
Spinal cancer symptoms may grow to include weakness, inability to move the legs and, potentially, paralysis. Some common signs of spinal tumors may include: Back pain. Pain in the neck, arms or legs.
Sometimes paralysis can be temporary, like having sleep paralysis, or long-term, like muscular dystrophy. It can also be caused by a brain tumour or certain types of cancer like head or neck cancer.
Spinal Tumor and Spinal Cancer Symptoms
Back pain and neck pain, which are the most common symptoms of spinal tumors. The pain can be related to the tumor pressing on the nerves or the spinal cord. Or, it can be caused by changes in the alignment of the spine affected by the tumor.
Metastatic spinal tumors form when cancer spreads from another area in the body to the spine. Spinal metastases can cause pain and impair the functioning of your nervous system. Some people have no symptoms. Treatment options depend on the location, size and type of metastatic spinal tumor.
Spinal metastasis of cancer often causes spinal cord compression and induces paralysis. Reportedly, spinal cord compression occurs in 5–14% of all cancer cases [1, 2]. Severe paralysis is irreparable.
If a spinal cord compression isn't treated right away, the person can become paralyzed. Most often this affects the legs (so that the person can't walk) but if the tumor is pressing on the spinal cord in the neck, the arms and the legs can be affected.
Strokes and spinal cord injuries are the top causes of paralysis. Other causes include: Autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
- Lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and other cancers that spread or metastasize to the brain.
- Cancers that spread or metastasize to the spine or peripheral nervous system.
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma affecting the central nervous system.
- Trauma, including spinal cord injury.
- Stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA)
- Brain hemorrhage (bleeding)
- Infections, including tetanus and West Nile virus.
- Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is a rare autoimmune disorder possibly triggered by an infection.
- Toxins such as venom or poison.
What are the 5 primary cancers that metastasize to the spine?
Breast, lung, and prostate cancer are the leading contributors to spinal metastases. Spinal metastases can manifest as bone pain, pathologic fractures, spinal instability, nerve root compression, and, in its most severe form, spinal cord compression.
Median survival of patients with spinal metastatic disease is 10 months. Spinal metastasis is one of the leading causes of morbidity in cancer patients. It causes pain, fracture, mechanical instability, or neurological deficits such as paralysis and/or bowel and bladder dysfunction.
- Back pain that gets worse with time, is not related to activity and is worse when you lie down.
- Muscle weakness or numbness in the arms or legs that gets worse with time.
- General loss of sensation, numbness and tingling.
- Loss of feeling in certain areas of the body.
- Loss of bowel and bladder control.
Within the spinal column, metastasis is more commonly found in the thoracic region, followed by the lumbar region, while the cervical region is the least likely place professionals find metastasis [1].
Metastatic Spine Cancer Symptoms
Decreased sensitivity to pain or temperature. Difficulty walking or balancing. Loss of bowel or bladder function. Numbness or weakness in the legs, arms, or chest.
Cancer in the spine may be fatal, depending on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed, or whether it is metastatic (spread) from other organs. Cancer in the spine occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control in the spinal cord or the bones, tissues, fluid, or nerves that make up the spinal column.
Temporary paralysis (also known as periodic paralysis) occurs when all or some muscle control in any part of the body comes and goes periodically (i.e. from time to time). This episodic paralysis most often occurs because of muscle weakness, diseases, or hereditary causes.
Temporary paralysis often results from a genetic condition that leaves an individual susceptible to periods of paralysis after exposure to certain triggers. These triggers may include temperature fluctuations, extreme temperatures, stress, hunger, excitement, or traumatic experiences.
Problems with limb weakness and loss, gait disturbance, imbalance and other problems affecting normal walking are common in 25%–35% of cancer patients. Fatigue and visual changes may add to these mobility challenges. Precancerous mobility impairments may be magnified by cancer and its treatment.
The most common sign of cancer metastasis to bone is a sudden, new pain, which can be similar to the discomfort caused by arthritis or a muscle strain. The pain may come and go at first, then gradually become constant, even during rest. As cancer progresses, frequent fractures (broken bones) may occur.
What does cancer do to your legs?
Cancer and its treatment may cause problems that lead to patients having leg and other types of muscle cramps. Leg cramps or spasms are painful tightenings of the muscles in the leg, ankle, or foot.
Sarcomas can impact the bone and soft tissue in the limbs; if the cancer is too aggressive or large to be removed, or if it is recurring or extends to the nerves and blood vessels, amputation could be necessary.
There are four types of paralysis — Monoplegia, Hemiplegia, Paraplegia and Quadriplegia.
Suxamethonium (succinylcholine)
Suxamethonium is a depolarizing neuromuscular-blocking drug that consists of two acetylcholine molecules joined together. At a dose of 1 to 1.5 mg/kg, suxamethonium causes extremely rapid muscular paralysis, and optimal intubating conditions are obtained within 30 to 60 seconds.
In some types of cancer, the body may make substances that damage peripheral nerves. This is called paraneoplastic syndrome. It may happen in people with lung cancer, myeloma or lymphoma.
References
- https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/side-effects/pain/leg-cramps.html
- https://www.moffitt.org/cancers/bone-metastasis/symptoms/
- https://www.cancercenter.com/cancer-types/spinal-cancer
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/paralysis/
- https://www.rosslawgroup.com/what-causes-temporary-paralysis/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441950/
- https://goshenhealth.com/health-library/paralysis
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/spinal-cancer-and-spinal-tumors
- https://primecareprosthetics.com/blog/what-causes-amputation-causes-symptoms-and-risk-factors-of-limb-loss
- https://www.barrowneuro.org/condition/neurologic-complications-of-cancer/
- https://www.mdanderson.org/cancer-types/spinal-tumors/spinal-tumor-symptoms.html
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/neuromuscular-blocking-drug
- https://www.emedicinehealth.com/is_cancer_in_the_spine_fatal/article_em.htm
- https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/advanced-cancer/bone-metastases.html
- https://www.cancerandwork.ca/healthcare-providers/cancers-impact-on-work/effects-mobility/
- https://www.barrowneuro.org/condition/metastatic-spine-cancer/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21173-metastatic-spinal-tumors
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15345-paralysis
- https://www.spinalcord.com/types-of-paralysis
- https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/peripheral-neuropathy
- https://josr-online.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13018-019-1348-x
- https://www.spinalcord.com/blog/what-causes-temporary-paralysis
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7705531/
- https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1157987-overview
