title: Therapeutic effect of sunitinib malate and its influence on blood glucose concentrations in a patient with metastatic insulinoma.
abstract: Standard cytotoxic chemotherapy has limited efficacy in advanced insulinomas, and control of blood glucose concentrations in these patients may be difficult. This article describes an elderly (74-year-old) man with metastatic insulinoma and severe hypoglycemia who was treated with repeated 6-week cycles of oral sunitinib malate (25 mg/day for 4 weeks, followed by 2 weeks off treatment). After treatment for more than 2 years, his condition improved and he continued to have a good quality of life with no evidence of tumor progression based on PET/CT findings. Although sunitinib treatment lowered the patient's blood glucose concentrations further and induced repeated symptomatic hypoglycemic episodes, he was able to tolerate the treatment well after changing the timing of sunitinib dosing and adjusting his diet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Jianpeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Caixia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Junqing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.forename: Yangang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sha
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Weibo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007340:Insulinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077210:Sunitinib; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007211:Indoles; D011758:Pyrroles; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D000077210:Sunitinib