Gastrinoma before Zollinger and Ellison

Gastrinomas: Medical or Surgical Treatment

This article reviews the role of surgical and medical management in patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES) due to a gastrin-secreting neuroendocrine tumor (gastrinoma). It concentrates on the status at present but also briefly reviews the changes over time in treatment approaches. Generally, surgical and medical therapy are complementary today; however, in some cases, such as patients with ZES and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, the treatment approach remains controversial.

A short history of neuroendocrine tumours and their peptide hormones

The discovery of neuroendocrine tumours of the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas started in 1870, when Rudolf Heidenhain discovered the neuroendocrine cells, which can lead to the development of these tumours. Siegfried Oberndorfer was the first to introduce the term carcinoid in 1907. The pancreatic islet cells were first described in 1869 by Paul Langerhans. In 1924, Seale Harris was the first to describe endogenous hyperinsulinism/insulinoma. In 1942 William Becker and colleagues were the first to describe the glucagonoma syndrome. The first description of gastrinoma by Robert Zollinger and Edwin Ellison dates from 1955. The first description of the VIPoma syndrome by John Verner and Ashton Morrison dates from 1958. In 1977, the groups of Lars-Inge Larsson and Jens Rehfeld, and of Om Ganda reported the first cases of somatostatinoma. But only in 2013, Jens Rehfeld and colleagues described the CCK-oma syndrome. The most recently updated WHO classification for gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumours dates from 2010.

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome: Revelation of the gastrinoma triangle

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is a complex condition in which one or more tumors form in the patient's pancreas or upper duodenum. These tumors, called gastrinomas, secrete excessive amounts of gastrin, and almost all develop ulcers. The vast majority of gastrinomas are present within the “gastrinoma triangle,” which is composed of the porta hepatis, duodenal sweep, and pancreatic head. As surgery remains the treatment of choice, localization of the primary lesion is often challenging but essential. We present a 50-year-old man with a tentative diagnosis of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. His In-111 pentetreotide scan, fused onto a Tc-99m abdomen image, revealed an avid lesion adjacent to the duodenal loop. Operative resection was performed, and a primary pancreatic gastrinoma was diagnosed by immunohistochemical staining. The neuroendocrine tumors have somatostatin receptors upon them. Therefore, a penteteotide scan, using In-111 radiolabelled somatostatin analogues, is the current technique of choice. This dual-isotope display permits a visual perception of anatomic landmarks around the lesion.