title: Calcitonin-producing pancreatic somatostatinoma: report of a case.
abstract: A 59-year-old woman was hospitalized due to a 1-year history of diarrhea and weight loss. Echography and computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a 10 x 7 cm solid mass in the tail of the pancreas and gallstones, while selective celiac angiography revealed the presence of a hypervascular mass. High levels of somatostatin and calcitonin were detected in the plasma, 70 pg/ml (normal range <28 pg/ml) and 5550 pg/ml (normal range 37 +/- 8 pg/ml), respectively. This tumor was thus removed by means of a distal pancreatectomy and a splenectomy. After the pancreatic tumor was removed, the elevated levels of plasma somatostatin and calcitonin returned to the normal ranges, and the persistent diarrhea also dramatically disappeared. A postoperative immunohistochemical study showed the tumor cells to be diffusely positive for somatostatin and calcitonin. These results clearly indicate this patient to be a case of calcitonin-producing pancreatic somatostatinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Koseiren-Kariwagun General Hospital, Kashiwazaki, Japan.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sekiya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iiai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nozawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishizaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikarashi
mesh_terms: D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery*; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D013004:Somatostatin; D002116:Calcitonin