title: Association of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome with pancreatitis: report of five cases.
abstract: In a retrospective analysis, five cases of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome were found in a typical urban inner-city teaching hospital. Chronic alcohol abuse and heavy smoking characterized these patients, and four of them also had pancreatitis, suggesting an association of gastrin-producing tumors and pancreatic inflammation. Ductal obstruction by neuroendocrine tumors has been reported to cause pancreatitis in a few cases. In this analysis, however, a nonobstructive gastrinoma was the surgical diagnosis in three patients, and it was suggested by imaging studies in the two other cases. The potential other pathomechanisms for a dual cause-effect relationship of gastrinoma and pancreatitis are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Saint Luke's Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baffy
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Boyle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015408:Gastrinoma / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015043:Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome / Q000150:complications*