Paraneoplastic syndrome

The collective signs and symptoms caused by a substance emanating from a tumor or in reaction to a tumor. Paraneoplastic syndromes can be due to a number of causes including hormones or other biologically active products made by the tumor, blockade of the effect of a hormone, autoimmunity, immune-complex production, and immune suppression.

"Para-" is a prefix with many meanings including resembling, beyond, and apart from. "Neoplastic" means tumoral, pertaining to a tumor. "Paraneoplastic" thus means resembling a tumor, near tumoral, apart from a tumor.