Paraneoplastic Gastrointestinal Motor Dysfunction: Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics

The diagnosis of paraneoplastic GI motor dysfunction requires a high index of clinical suspicion. A panel of serological tests for paraneoplastic autoantibodies, scintigraphic gastric emptying, and esophageal manometry are useful as first-line screening tests. Seropositivity for ANNA-1, PCA-1, or N-type calcium channel-binding antibodies should prompt further evaluation for an underlying malignancy even when routine imaging studies are negative.