Neuromuscular disorders associated with malignant neoplastic disease

Abstract

1. 1. Neuromuscular disorders may be the presenting and dominating clinical aspect of patients with malignant tumors. The neural syndromes have been described as subacute cerebellar degeneration, encephalomyelopathy, peripheral neuropathy and multifocal leukoencephalopathy, Dermatomyositis, carcinomatous myopathy and, possibly, some myasthenic syndromes account for the muscular disorders. 2. 2. The clinical and pathological features of these syndromes have been analyzed and illustrative cases presented, including two patients with clinical evidence of motor neurone disease associated with Hodgkin's disease. At autopsy there was loss of anterior horn cells and tract demyelination. 3. 3. The pathogenesis of these syndromes is not understood. The paucity of cases and the variety of syndromes described makes it difficult to establish a causal relationship between the tumor and the neuromuscular disorder. The temporal relations, however, and the growing number of case reports suggest that the association is not merely fortuitous.