Regarding the etiology of ECS, four patients had lung carcinoids (28.6%), three had small-cell lung carcinoma (21.4%), three had pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (21.4%), one had medullary thyroid cancer (7.1%), one had non-metastatic pheochromocytoma (7.1%), one had metastatic thymoma (7.1%) and one patient had an occult source of ACTH (7.1%). The gene discussed is POMC; the disease is medullary thyroid gland carcinoma.