Selective Arterial Calcium Injection Test Research Articles

Usefulness of selective arterial calcium injection tests for functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

The selective arterial calcium injection (SACI) test is useful for patients with functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (F-PNETs). This study evaluated which patients with F-PNETs would benefit from the SACI test. We retrospectively analyzed the preoperative findings of patients on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT angiography (CTA), and the SACI test. Fourteen patients who underwent pancreatectomy between January 1997 and September 2016 for F-PNETs were evaluated. We classified these patients into groups A, B, and C; group A, one tumor detected by either CT or MRI; group B, multiple tumors detected; and group C, the tumor location was accordant on CT, MRI, and CTA, but the SACI test revealed another tumor. In group A, the tumor was also detected by CTA and the SACI test was positive on calcium injection. In group B, the focus tumor among the multiple tumors was detected by the SACI test. In group C, another tumor was identified by the SACI test, whose location was different from that detected using CT and MRI. The SACI test is more useful for multiple F-PNETs on CT or MRI. If CT or MRI detects a single tumor, the SACI test or CTA may be unnecessary.

Diagnostic accuracy of selective arterial calcium injection test for localization of gastrinoma.

The appropriate localization of gastrinoma is still difficult. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of selective arterial calcium injection (SACI) for localization of gastrinomas including multiple lesions. This retrospective study included ten patients with surgically proven gastrinomas (gastrinoma group) and six patients without any findings suggesting Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (non-gastrinoma group). For SACI, calcium gluconate was injected into the arteries supplying pancreas, duodenum, and liver. Blood samples from the hepatic vein were obtained before and 30, 60, and 120 seconds after each injection. The results were considered positive when the increase in serum immunoreactive gastrin (IRG) levels within 60 seconds of calcium gluconate injection were more than 80 pg/mL and more than 20% from baseline. We evaluated the efficacy of SACI by comparing the SACI responses with definitive locations diagnosed by clinical and histopathological findings. In the gastrinoma group, false-positive responses were confirmed in seven of the ten patients. False-negative response was observed in one of the feeding arteries of one patient with gastrinomas in multiple locations. Conversely, the greatest increase in serum gastrin levels from baseline at 30 seconds indicated the true-positive responses in all patients with gastrinomas. In the non-gastrinoma group, calcium gluconate injection into gastroduodenal artery evoked positive responses in five of the six patients. In conclusion, our data suggest the strongest gastrin response evoked by SACI indicates the definitive location in patients with gastrinomas. In contrast, SACI could not accurately locate multiple gastrin-secreting lesions due to poor specificity.

New Diagnostic Criteria for the Localization of Insulinomas with the Selective Arterial Calcium Injection Test: Decision Tree Analysis

PurposeTo explore optimal diagnostic criteria for localizing insulinomas with the selective arterial calcium injection (SACI) test using decision tree analysis. Materials and MethodsA retrospective study included 86 vessels of 18 patients (5 men, 13 women; mean age 67 y; range, 49–73 y) with insulinomas who underwent SACI test between June 2007 and May 2016. Of 27 insulinomas, 7 were found in the head, 13 in the body, and 7 in the tail of the pancreas. Two patients had multiple tumors. To identify optimal diagnostic criteria, decision tree analysis was performed, and sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the conventional and the proposed new diagnostic criteria (plasma insulin concentration after calcium injection [ICpost] > 2.0 × plasma insulin concentration before calcium injection [ICpre]) were compared. ResultsThe proposed new diagnostic criteria for insulinoma obtained by decision tree analysis were (i) ICpost > 2.7 × ICpre and maximum insulin concentration > 60.3 μIU/mL or (ii) ICpost > 2.7 × ICpre and maximum insulin concentration < 60.3 μIU/mL with ICpre being ≥ 7.5 μIU/mL. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the new criteria for the SACI test were 100%, 91.4%, and 94.2; sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of conventional criteria were 100%, 69.0%, and 79.1%. ConclusionsNew diagnostic criteria for localization of insulinomas with the SACI test yielded higher diagnostic performance than conventional criteria.

Adult Nesidioblastosis With Hypoglycemia Mimicking an Insulinoma: A Challenging Case

Introduction: Nesidioblastosis is the primary cause of persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia in infants but it is a rare entity for the adults. Nesidioblastosis is defined as an increase of pancreatic beta cells in number and in size. Case Presentation: We describe a rare case of nesidioblastosis with positive endoscopic ultrasonography result mimicking an insulinoma. A 35-year-old female patient had hypoglycemic episodes with high insulin level. Her investigation revealed low venous plasma glucose, high insulin and C-peptide level with positive 72-hour fasting test suggestive of hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. Abdominal computed tomography did not show any mass lesion. Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed a mass lesion sized as 1 cm in diameter in the pancreas. But, insulinoma like lesion couldn't be found intra-operatively. It was decided to perform distal pancreatectomy. After distal pancreatectomy, nesidioblastosis was diagnosed histopathologically. The patient was free from her symptoms after surgery. Conclusion: This case illustrates difficulties and limitations of imaging modalities and false positive result of EUS in a case of nesidioblastosis. When there is no insulinoma like lesion during operation, operation should be performed as gradient guided pancreatectomy by the way of selective arterial calcium injection test.

Case of primary hepatic gastrinoma: Diagnostic usefulness of the selective arterial calcium injection test.

Gastrinomas mainly occur in the duodenum and pancreas. Primary hepatic gastrinoma is rare and difficult to diagnose because the liver is a frequent site of metastatic gastrinomas. Clinical factors were assessed in a 28-year-old man with diarrhea and heartburn who was hospitalized for recurrent duodenal ulcers. Abdominal ultrasound, endoscopic ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) could not detect a tumor in the duodenum or pancreas. His gastrin level was 846 pg/mL and magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass 12 mm in diameter in the right robe of the liver. A selective intra-arterial calcium injection (SACI) test and 68-gallium edotreotide positron emission tomography CT (Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT) were therefore performed. Calcium gluconate injection into the proper hepatic artery resulted in a marked increase in serum gastrin concentration in the right hepatic vein, with Ga-DOTATOC PET-CT showing uptake only by the liver mass. Following a diagnosis of primary hepatic gastrinoma, the tumor was resected. A histopathological examination indicated gastrinoma. Six months postoperatively, he has no symptoms, is not taking proton-pump inhibitors and his gastrin level remains within the normal range. The SACI test and the clinical course of this patient strongly suggest that the tumor was a primary hepatic gastrinoma. The SACI test is helpful in the diagnosis of primary hepatic gastrinoma.

選択的動脈内カルシウム注入試験が局在診断に有効であった微小ガストリノーマの一例

選択的動脈内カルシウム注入試験が局在診断に有効であった微小ガストリノーマの一例

選択的動脈内カルシウム注入試験にて局在診断した十二指腸ガストリノーマの１切除例

選択的動脈内カルシウム注入試験にて局在診断した十二指腸ガストリノーマの１切除例

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasm Type 1-related Gastrinomas to Use Selective Arterial Calcium Injection Test for Diagnosis of the Location

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasm Type 1-related Gastrinomas to Use Selective Arterial Calcium Injection Test for Diagnosis of the Location

Insulinoma: Selective arterial calcium injection performed to confirm localization and complete resection

A case of insulinoma is reported in a patient in whom selective arterial calcium injection (SACI) tests were performed both to confirm tumor localization before surgery and to confirm complete tumor removal during surgery. An 18-year-old woman with hypoglycemic episodes was diagnosed with an insulinoma in the pancreatic body demonstrated by celiac arteriography. In a preoperative SACI test, calcium was injected into the splenic artery (SpA), gastroduodenal artery (GDA), and superior mesenteric artery (SMA). Serum immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and proinsulin levels were measured in hepatic venous samples. IRI was markedly increased after the injection of calcium into the GDA and SMA, while there was no response in IRI levels when calcium was injected into the SpA. Therefore, no occult insulinoma was revealed in the distal area fed by the SpA, although the presence of insulinoma was uncertain in the proximal pancreas. In the intraoperative SACI test, calcium was injected into the celiac artery. Insulin (determined by enzyme immunoassay) and proinsulin levels were measured in portal venous samples before and after resection of the tumor. After resection, these levels decreased in response to the calcium stimuli, confirming complete removal of the insulinoma. The SACI test was helpful to localize the insulinoma and was useful to confirm the complete removal of the tumor.

Significance of selective arterial calcium injection test (SACI test) for preoperative localization of occult insulinomas: [formula omitted], M. Imamura, R. Doi, N. Okada, Y. Shimada, R. Hosotani and J. Miyazaki∗. First Dept. of Surgery, Kyoto Univ., Kyoto, Japan, and ∗Dept. of Disease-Related Gene Regulation Research, Tokyo Univ., Tokyo, Japan

Significance of selective arterial calcium injection test (SACI test) for preoperative localization of occult insulinomas: [formula omitted], M. Imamura, R. Doi, N. Okada, Y. Shimada, R. Hosotani and J. Miyazaki∗. First Dept. of Surgery, Kyoto Univ., Kyoto, Japan, and ∗Dept. of Disease-Related Gene Regulation Research, Tokyo Univ., Tokyo, Japan

Usefulness of selective arterial calcium injection test and secretin test in patients with insulinoma

Preoperatively, it is sometimes very difficult to localize pancreatic endocrine tumors by conventional imaging techniques. Insulinoma is often solitary and benign, but 10% of insulinomas are multiple and malignant. To perform a curative resection of insulinomas, it is important not to leave any tumor postoperatively. In patients with gastrinomas, the selective arterial secretin injection test has been demonstrated to be useful for the curative resection of gastrinomas, since this test tells us whether there is a gastrinoma in the area of interest. The principle of this test is based on the observation that gastrinomas promptly release gastrin when stimulated by secretin. Following a principle analogous to that underlying the secretin test, we have used calcium solution as a stimulant for insulinoma. This selective arterial calcium injection (SACI) test has been used in Kyoto and in National Institute in Health, Bethesda, USA, NIH since 1990. In three patients with insulinoma, curative resection was performed successfully, based on localization by the SACI test. For the differential diagnosis of insulinoma and B cell hyperplasia, we used the intravenous secretin test in 14 patients who had had episodes of hypoglycemia; the test was useful, showing 75% sensitivity and 100% specificity.