Paraneoplastic and metastatic neurologic complications of Merkel cell carcinoma

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare primary cutaneous neuroendocrine tumor that is locally aggressive and frequently accompanied by distant metastases, Ne urologic complications of Merkel cell carcinoma are rare. We describe a 69- year-old man who presented with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome and was f ound to have Merkel cell carcinoma. The paraneoplastic syndrome improved wi th initial treatment of the malignancy. He subsequently developed a solitar y brain metastasis and died of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.