Motor neuron disease associated with carcinoma. A report of 2 cases.

Paraneoplastic complications are obscure and difficult to understand. The association of motor neuron disease and carcinoma may sometimes be more than coincidental, and 2 cases are described. One patient had motor neuron disease, limbic encephalitis (a recognized paraneoplastic disorder) and carcinoma of the oesophagus; the other had motor neuron disease and adenocarcinoma of the rectum. In the elderly male with motor neuron disease simple screening tests to exclude lymphoma and carcinoma of the lung, bowel and genito-urinary tract are advocated.