Neurologic complications of carcinoid

We reviewed the records of all patients treated for carcinoid tumors at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from 1974 through 1984. Of 219 patients, 90 developed metastatic complications, and of these, 36 developed neurologic complications. Metastases, the most common neurologic complication, included epidural spinal cord compression (14 patients), intracranial metastases (13 patients), leptomeningeal metastases (1 patient), and peripheral nerve lesions (5 patients). Nonmetastatic complications were hepatic encephalopathy (six patients), herpes zoster infection (two patients), cerebral infarction due to septic emboli (one patient), superior sagittal sinus thrombosis (one patient), and carcinoid myopathy (one patient). The carcinoid syndrome was seen in eight patients (4%). Response of neurologic metastases to conventional radiation therapy was usually favorable. We conclude that (1) the frequency and type of neurologic complications associated with carcinoid tumors are similar to those seen with other systemic cancers; (2) CNS metastases are relatively common in patients with metastatic carcinoid (29%); and (3) the carcinoid syndrome is less common than CNS metastasis.