• Cancer

    First test to detect recently discovered autoimmune disease associated with testicular cancer

Mayo Clinic Laboratories has launched a first-of-its-kind test to detect an autoimmune disease called
testicular cancer-associated paraneoplastic encephalitis. The test, available nationally and internationally, detects the Kelch-like protein 11 antibody, or KLHL11, and is a result of the breakthrough study from 2019 that discovered the disease. This test has already provided patients, such as Steven Wopperer of Temecula, California, a diagnosis after he struggled for three years to find an answer to his vision and balance problems.

Read full news release on the Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ website.

Media contact:

Watch: Steven Wopperer discusses his journey that led him to be tested at Mayo Clinic for testicular cancer-associated paraneoplastic encephalitis.

Journalists: Broadcast-quality sound bites are in the downloads at the end of the post.

_________________________________________________

Read more: Unique neurologic symptoms lead to surprising cancer diagnosis

A team of scientists from Mayo Clinic and two other institutions published a study in 2019 that showed the existence of an autoimmune disorder that affects men. The disorder causes the immune system to attack the brain, causing severe neurologic symptoms. That's what happened to Gregor Heinrich of Boca Raton, Florida.

Watch: Gregor's patient story.

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (2:42) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

###

About Mayo Clinic Laboratories
Mayo Clinic Laboratories is a global reference laboratory that helps health care providers worldwide advance patient care, strengthen their practice and broaden access to specialized testing. Through partnerships with clinicians at Mayo Clinic and health care providers around the world, Mayo Clinic Laboratories is a critical component to patient care.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. For information on COVID-19, including Mayo Clinic's Coronavirus Map tracking tool, which has 14-day forecasting on COVID-19 trends, visit the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Resource Center.

Related Articles