[Treatment of malignant pancreatic islet cell tumors]

Abstract

Among 142 patients with islet cell tumor who were admitted to hospital between 1982 and 1999, 15 patients (10.6%) had malignant tumours. The mean age was 45.3 +/- 5.8 years. Islet cell tumors were located in the head and corpus of the pancreas in 26.6% and 26.6% of the patients, respectively, in the tail of the pancreas in 46.8% of the patients. The mean size of the tumor was 2.9 +/- 0.7 cm, in 6 patients (40%) liver metastases were found. US, CT and angiography which sensitivity were 72.7, 100 and 85.7%, respectively, were used for topical diagnosis of the islet cell tumors. 12 patients were operated on (15 operations) and 3 patients were treated conservatively by streptozocin. Surgical procedures included distal pancreatic resection (n = 11), enucleation of the tumor (n = 2), hepatic resection (n = 1), abdominal exploration (n = 1). In 2 patients palliative pancreatic resections were combined with transarterial embolization and devascularisation of the liver metastases and 2 patients were treated by systemic chemotherapy. To reveal malignancy before and during the operation was possible only by evaluation of distant metastases and the adjacent organs infiltration. In other cases to determine the diagnosis was possible only after planned histological identification of the resected specimens. 5-year survival rates after conservative and surgical treatment were 33% and 62.5%, respectively. In patients without distant metastases 5-year survival rate was 100%.