Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 26, 2022; 10(24): 8805-8807
Published online Aug 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i24.8805
Comment on “Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in a patient with metastatic breast cancer: A case report”
Suljo Kunić, Omer Ć Ibrahimagić, Biljana Kojić, Dževad Džananović
Suljo Kunić, Department of Neurology, Primary Health Center Tuzla, Tuzla 75000, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Omer Ć Ibrahimagić, Biljana Kojić, Department of Neurology, University Clinical Center Tuzla, Tuzla 75000, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dževad Džananović, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Primary Health Center Tuzla, Tuzla 75000, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Author contributions: Kunić S and Ibrahimagić OĆ designed the commentary; Kunić S, Kojić B and Džananović Dž performed the data analysis and wrote the letter; and Ibrahimagić OĆ revised the letter for important intellectual content
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Suljo Kunić, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Primary Health Center Tuzla, Albina i Franje Herljevica br 1, Tuzla 75000, Bosnia and Herzegovina. suljo.kunic@hotmail.com
Received: April 26, 2022
Peer-review started: April 26, 2022
First decision: June 8, 2022
Revised: June 13, 2022
Accepted: July 24, 2022
Article in press: July 24, 2022
Published online: August 26, 2022
Processing time: 111 Days and 20.4 Hours
Abstract

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a neurotoxic encephalopathic state, manifesting clinical symptoms of headache, altered consciousness, visual disturbances, and seizures. Although several diseases have been identified as causative of PRES, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Song et al recently published “Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) in a patient with metastatic breast cancer: A case report“ in the World Journal of Clinical Cases, highlighting and discussing the role of hypercalcemia in PRES as related to uncontrolled hypertension. To build upon this case description, we provide further insight into the possible underlying mechanisms of PRES through this commentary.

Keywords: Case report; Hypercalcemia; Paraneoplastic syndrome; Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome

Core Tip: We speculate that posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome may be caused by paraneoplastic antibodies, tumors or even antitumor therapy, per se, in addition to the hypercalcemia postulated by Song et al in “Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) in a patient with metastatic breast cancer: A case report“ (World Journal of Clinical Cases, March 2022).