Improvements of visual function and outer retinal morphology following spontaneous regression of cancer in anti-recoverin cancer-associated retinopathy

Purpose To report an anti-recoverin antibody-positive cancer-associated retinopathy (anti-recoverin CAR) patient with remarkable improvements of visual function and outer retinal morphology following spontaneous regression of cancer. Observations A 65-year-old woman with small cell lung carcinoma developed progressive, bilateral vision loss with diffuse loss of the ellipsoid zone at the macula on optical coherence tomography and marked reduced responses of a- and b-waves on electroretinography. Western blot analysis led to a diagnosis of anti-recoverin CAR. The visual function and outer retinal morphology gradually improved following spontaneous regression of the cancer and the initiation of systemic corticosteroid. Subsequent intermittent chemotherapy and continuation of corticosteroid maintained reduction of the cancer and prevented the recurrence of CAR, with preservation of improvements of the visual function and macular outer retinal morphology. Conclusions and importance These results suggest that requirement for obtaining good visual prognosis in CAR patients is to make the cancer regress prior to falling into photoreceptor apotosis.