Carcinoid somatostatinoma of the duodenum

Somatostatin-producing pancreatic endocrine carcinoma presented as relapsing cholangitis -- a case report

Somatostatin-producing endocrine tumors are rare neoplasms usually arising in the pancreas and duodenum and they account for less than 1% of all gastrointestinal endocrine tumors. Besides somatostatinoma syndrome, which is characterized by diabetes mellitus, steatorrhea and cholelithiasis, patients with somatostatin-producing endocrine tumors commonly complain of nonspecific symptoms such as vague abdominal pain, weight loss or changes in bowel habits. Tumor behavior cannot be predicted by histological features alone, and malignancy is determined by the presence of metastases. We report here a case of malignant pancreatic endocrine tumor producing somatostatin presented as relapsing cholangitis who was treated with Whipple pancreatoduodenectomy.

Malignant Duodenal Somatostatinoma Presenting in Association with von Recklinghausen Disease

Somatostatinomas are extremely rare periampullary malignant neuroendocrine tumors that may be associated with von Recklinghausen disease or type-I neurofibromatosis. Duodenal somatostatinomas are distinguished from pancreatic somatostatinomas by their frequent association with type-I neurofibromatosis and typically absence of somatostatinoma syndrome. We report a very rare and atypical case of malignant duodenal somatostatinoma presenting with somatostatinoma syndrome in association with type-I neurofibromatosis.

Duodenal somatostatinoma presenting with complete somatostatinoma syndrome

Somatostatinomas are the rarest pancreatic endocrine tumors and can arise in the pancreas or duodenum. Duodenal somatostatinomas are less common than, and are distinguished from, their pancreatic counterparts by a frequent association with type I neurofibromatosis, the presence of psammoma bodies, the less frequent presence of metastatic disease, and the absence of somatostatinoma syndrome (diabetes mellitus, steatorrhea, and cholelithiasis). We report a case of somatostatinoma with metastases and psammoma bodies presenting with all three features of the syndrome in a patient with neurofibromatosis. Although several reports have documented portions of the syndrome in patients with duodenal somatostatinomas, to our knowledge, this is the first report of the complete syndrome associated with a duodenal lesion.

[Duodenal somatostatinoma. Anatomic/clinical study of 12 operated cases]

STUDY AIM

Duodenal somatostatinomas (DS) are very rare neuro-endocrine tumours. The aim of this retrospective and multicentric study was to report the clinical and pathological characteristics of these neoplasms in a series of 12 patients and to compare them with the literature.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From 1987 to 1998, 12 patients were operated for a DS. There were seven women and five men ranging in age from 23 to 72 years (mean age: 56.6 years). Four patients had an associated von Recklinghausen's disease, one of them with multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN type IIa) and medullary carcinoma of the thyroíd. The surgical procedures were pancreaticoduodenectomy (n = 8), small bowel resection (n = 2), inferior gastrectomy (n = 1) and gastrojejunostomy with hepatic metastases biopsies (n = 1). The tumour was mainly located on the 2nd duodenum (n = 10), with a mean size of 2.7 cm (ranging from 0.4 to 6 cm) and with a pancreatic invasion in three patients. A metastatic disease was present at the time of diagnosis in eight patients. There were, according to Capella's classification, two patients in the groups I and II, and ten patients in group III (83%), respectively.

RESULTS

There was one postoperative death after a pancreaticoduodenectomy. Three patients secondarily died from tumoral progression. Eight patients were alive, with a mean follow-up of 84 months (ranging from 5 to 290 months), at the end-point of the study.

CONCLUSION

Duodenal somatostatinomas are rare neuroendocrine, generally non-functioning, well-differentiated tumours with a low grade of malignancy. The association with the von Recklinghausen's disease is frequent. The clinical somatostatinoma syndrome with diabetes, diarrhea and biliary lithiasis is rare. The treatment is surgical even with a metastatic disease. The 5-year survival rate is better than those of the pancreatic somatostatinomas or the duodenal gastrinomas.