Diagnosis and therapy of insulinomas: experience in 131 cases

Abstract

Objective To summarize the experience in the diagnosis and management of insulinoma. Methods From January 1966 to December 2007, the clinical data of 131 patients with insulinoma were retrospectively analyzed. Results All the 131 cases had Whipple triad syndrome and 64 eases suffered from psychoneurosis symptoms. The fasting blood glucose or insultus blood glucose concentration of all the cases was lower than 2.8 mmol/L. The ratios of serum insulin to glucose were all higher than 0.3. Before operation, tumor was detected in 8 of 75 patients by B-us scan, and in 17 of 68 by CT, and in 5 of 10 by MRI. The intraoperative ultrasonography(IOUS) was applied in 44 eases, and tumor was found in 43 cases. Surgery included enucleation of insulinoma (88 cases), resection of the corpus and eauda of the pancreas (40 cases), duodenopancreatectomy (2 cases), and biopsy (1 case). The low blood glucose symptoms disappeared postoperatively in 130 cases. Pancreatic fistulae occurred in 20 cases, acute pancreatitis occurred in 32 cases. Conclusions Insulinoma can be diagnosed based on symptoms of Whipple triad and the ratio of serum insulin to glucose. Exploration and IOUS are the simple and effective methods to localize insulinoma. Key words: Insulinoma; Diagnosis; Treatment; Ultrasonography