121/305. Two clinical cases of insulinoma misdiagnosed as psychiatric conditions. We describe the clinical cases of two male subjects, respectively 73 and 41 years old, affected with insulinoma, misdiagnosed for many years as psychiatric subjects and scarcely responsive to therapy with benzodiazepins, antidepressants and antiepileptics. Although Whipple's triad was satisfied in both subjects since the onset of symptoms, they had to wait a long time for the correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Once the surgical therapy was carried out, our subjects recovered totally and ended the psycho-drugs. ( info) |
122/305. Malignant insulinoma in ectopic pancreatic tissue. BACKGROUND: Both ectopic pancreatic tissue and malignant insulinoma are rare. We encountered the combination of these rare entities in a patient demonstrating hypoglycemic symptoms. METHOD: A patient with episodic hypoglycemia, non-suppressed serum insulin levels, positive fasting test and a positive localization on both ultrasound and somatostatin receptor scintigraphy by (111)I-labelled octreotide, was operated and investigated. RESULTS: (111)I-labelled octreotide-guided surgery was performed and a tumor adjacent to the ligament of Treitz was extirpated. Follow-up was uneventful. Histopathology revealed a malignant insulinoma. The patient is currently under close surveillance. CONCLUSION: The rare combination of an insulinoma in ectopic pancreatic tissue, where the usual diagnostic endoscopic ultrasound revealed an extrapancreatic mass, is described. This was followed by a positive somatostatin receptor scintigraphy, enabling both radio-guided surgery and future treatment of developing recurrent disease or metastases. ( info) |
123/305. Case report: localization of occult insulinoma by intra-arterial stimulation with calcium and venous sampling technique. Hypoglycaemia as a result of insulin secreting tumours can be treated effectively by surgery. However pre-operative localization is desirable as the majority of these tumours are small and in 20% of the cases may be multiple. We describe a 1 cm insulinoma being localized pre-operatively by selective arterial stimulation with calcium and venous sampling for insulin. This technique is sensitive and relatively non-invasive. We believe that it is potentially very valuable in pre-operative localization of occult insulinomas. ( info) |
124/305. Complete clinical remission and disappearance of liver metastases after treatment with somatostatin analogue in a 40-year-old woman with a malignant insulinoma positive for somatostatin receptors type 2. insulinoma is the most common pancreatic endocrine tumor, accounting for 40% of all pancreatic functional neoplasm, and is characterized by hypersecretion of insulin and hypoglycemia. Elective treatment for insulinomas is surgical enucleation. Medical therapy with diazoxide, followed by somatostatin analogues in some cases, may be necessary to treat the hypoglycemic symptoms. We report a case of a patient affected by metastatic insulinoma with severe hypoglycemia. After surgery, histopathology confirmed the presence of a malignant insulinoma with multiple metastases in the liver. Due to the persistence of hypoglycemia, the patient was started on octreotide LAR treatment, which determined a complete clinical remission with regression of the metastatic lesions in the liver after one year. Repeated CT scans 2 and 3 years after surgery confirmed the remission. To our knowledge, the complete regression of the disease in insulinomas treated with long-standing somatostatin analogue therapy has never been reported. Immunohistochemical analysis in tissue specimens showed a strong membrane immunoreactivity for somatostatin receptors type 2 (SSTR2) in both the primary nodule and the metastases. The capacity of somatostatin analogues to negatively regulate cell proliferation through indirect and direct mechanisms has been experimentally demonstrated. Furthermore, SSTR2 activation may exert pro-apoptotic effects in neoplastic cells. Thus, both mechanisms may have been responsible of the remission of the disease in this patient. This case underlies the potential impact of the treatment of pancreatic insulinomas with somatostatin analogues, and, if confirmed, the usefulness of SSTR determination in these neoplastic specimens. ( info) |
125/305. liver metastases 9 years after removal of a malignant insulinoma which was initially considered benign. CONTEXT: Insulinomas may be regarded as potentially malignant. A long follow-up period is needed to detect any possible recurrence, even if the initial diagnosis was of a benign insulinoma. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 76-year-old woman with liver metastases due to a malignant insulinoma, which had been diagnosed as benign after its complete removal 9 years earlier. CONCLUSIONS: This case shows the difficulty of distinguishing between benign and malignant insulinomas when there is no initial evidence of metastases. This fact poses the need to conduct a long follow-up period in order to detect any possible recurrence even if the initial diagnosis was one of a benign insulinoma. ( info) |
126/305. Successful treatment of insulinoma by a single daily dose of octreotide in two elderly female patients. We report two cases of insulinoma in advanced age patients considered unsuitable for surgery, in whom single daily doses of octreotide successfully improved hypoglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. The biological half-life of octreotide is about 100 min, hence it is customary to use two or three administrations per day to prevent hypoglycemia in insulinoma patients. The first case was a 76-year-old woman who presented with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging did not identify a tumor in the pancreas but a 1.5-cm tumor was found in the pancreatic body on abdominal angiography and selective arterial calcium stimulation and hepatic venous sampling (ASVS) were compatible with insulinoma. The patient refused surgery, but was successfully treated with octreotide at 50 microg subcutaneous injection once daily. Since the treatment was started (1 year), she has not suffered hypoglycemia. Case 2 was an 85-year-old woman who presented with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. CT identified a 1.5-cm tumor in the pancreatic uncus, but she was considered unsuitable for surgery due to advanced age, obesity and cardiopulmonary dysfunction. octreotide at 100 microg subcutaneous injection once daily prevented further hypoglycemic attacks, but two months later, postprandial plasma glucose was elevated. octreotide was gradually reduced to 50 microg once daily. Three years have passed since the treatment without any hypoglycemic attack. Successful treatment with octreotide once daily could be due to old-age-related slow metabolism and could be potentially considered as the treatment of choice for elderly patients with insulinoma especially those considered unsuitable for surgery. ( info) |
| A 54-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of hypoglycemia. He had frequent episodes of loss of concentration before dinner. The ratio of IRI to plasma glucose (PG) was 0.8-1.0. Abdominal CT revealed no pancreatic tumor, and angiography of splenic artery showed no definite tumor stain within the pancreas. Based on the results of selective arterial calcium stimulation and hepatic venous sampling (ASVS), the provisional diagnosis was a small insulinoma in the pancreatic body. The patient underwent subtotal distal pancreatectomy. However, histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations of the resected tissue showed hypertrophy of islets of langerhans islands and beta cells around pancreatic ducts. The final diagnosis was adult-onset nesidioblastosis. Postoperatively, the patient continued to exhibit hyperinsulinemia and nighttime hypoglycemia. octreotide, voglibose and diet therapies failed to improve the nocturnal hypoglycemia. However, treatment with diazoxide at a starting dose of 200 mg/day resulted in immediate amelioration of nocturnal hypoglycemia. This is the first Japanese adult case of nesidioblastosis treated successfully with diazoxide. This case report suggests that diazoxide may be effective for adult-onset nesidioblastosis in a manner similar to that described for pediatric cases. ( info) |
128/305. A case with insulinoma diagnosed and localized preoperatively using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and arterial stimulation and venous sampling (ASVS). We report a case with insulinoma diagnosed and localized preoperatively using a combination of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and arterial stimulation and venous sampling (ASVS). A 76-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of hypoglycemic attacks, delirium, and dementia. Fajans' ratio, Grunt's ratio, and Turner's ratio, which are reported to be indexes for endogenous hyperinsulinemia in insulinoma, were all negative. Imaging tests, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and angiography, failed to detect any abnormalities. CEUS showed a small low echoic lesion in the pancreatic body with blood flow and ASVS showed that the insulin levels in the hepatic vein were extremely increased by calcium injection to the splenic artery, indicating an insulinoma in the pancreatic body preoperatively. An open intra-abdominal operation was performed and an insulinoma was confirmed in the pancreatic body. Enucleation of tumor was undertaken and symptomatic hypoglycemia improved. ( info) |
129/305. insulinoma: diagnosis and localization procedures. A 26-year-old Hispanic woman presented for evaluation of hypoglycemia documented by plasma glucose of 38mg/dl. A supervised 72-hour fasting test showed a plasma glucose of 30 mg/dl, insulin of 11 ulU/ml, proinsulin of 16.8 pmol/L and c-peptide 2.3 ng/ml after 16 hours of fasting. Sulfonylurea screen was negative. MRI showed a 12mm mass in the head of the pancreas. The tumor was resected and pathology was consistent with an insulinoma. The patient has been asymptomatic postoperatively with no hypoglycemia on repeat fasting. We reviewed here the different modalities for preoperative localization of insulinoma. ( info) |
130/305. Preoperative imaging and localization of small sized insulinoma with EUS-guided fine needle tattoing: a case report. We report a case of an insulinoma that was not identified on either Computerized tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) revealed a small insulinoma located at the body of the pancreas, which was histologically confirmed. The patient underwent a laparotomy but no tumour was identified either on palpation or with intra-operative ultrasound (IOUS). Subsequently, a further EUS was performed and after the tumour was identified was injected with blue dye. The patient then underwent a second exploratory laparotomy and a tumour at the posterior aspect of the pancreas close to the left side of the portal vein was identified and was successfully excised. histology confirmed the presence of an endocrine tumour staining for chromogranin a and insulin. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and has developed no further episodes of hypoglycemia 3 years after surgery. ( info) |