Ischaemic stroke as initial presentation of systemic malignancy.

Ischaemic stroke as the initial presentation of systemic malignancy is reported infrequently and is characterised by ischaemic lesions that exceed the vascular territory of a single vessel. There is also a high rate of early stroke recurrence. Several pathophysiological mechanisms are known to cause cerebrovascular complications in malignancies, as a direct effect of the tumour, paraneoplastic or even of the tumour treatment itself. Prognosis is reportedly poor, treatment is symptomatic and at best anecdotal. We present a case report and available literature.