Giant malignant insulinoma which developed from a non-functioning pancreatic tumor over a long period of time

Intern Med. 2010;49(15):1573-9. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.49.3540. Epub 2010 Aug 2.

Abstract

Insulinomas are the most common hormone-producing pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), which are usually benign, solitary and small. We describe herein a patient with a giant insulinoma (>10 cm in diameter) with concomitant thyroid tumor as detected by Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS). A 50-year-old man presented hypoglycemic symptoms 20 years after the first detection of a pancreatic tumor, which was ameliorated by administration of a somatostatin analogue, octreotide. SRS showed abnormal uptake by the insulinoma as well as by the thyroid tumor. RT-PCR and immunohistochemical study revealed abundant expression of somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-1, -2, and -5 in his insulinoma and SSTR-1 and -2 in his thyroid follicular neoplasm. This is a rare case of a slow-growing pancreatic well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma over a long period of time to become a symptomatic giant insulinoma. Furthermore, SRS proves to be a useful tool for localization of insulinoma as well as concomitant thyroid neoplasm with predominant expression of SSTRs.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Insulinoma / diagnosis*
  • Insulinoma / etiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / complications
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / etiology
  • Time Factors