Anti-Hu antibodies in Merkel cell carcinoma

Anti-Hu antibody is an antineuronal autoantibody found in a subset of patients with paraneoplastic neurological disease. The antibody was first associated with small cell carcinoma of the lung and is most often used as a marker for this neoplasm in patients presenting with suspected paraneoplastic syndromes. Here we report a patient with a multifaceted neurological disorder in the setting of Merkel cell carcinoma. The patient's serum contained antibodies against the Hu antigen, and the expression of the Hu antigen was demonstrated in the patient's tumor.