Long-term results of the surgical management of insulinoma patients with MEN1: a Groupe d'étude des Tumeurs Endocrines (GTE) retrospective study

Abstract

Objective: Management of insulinomas in the context of MEN1 remains poorly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term results of various surgical approaches in a large cohort of insulinoma-MEN1 patients.

Design and methods: Consecutive insulinoma-MEN1 patients operated on for a nonmetastatic insulinoma between 1957 and 2010 were retrospectively selected from the MEN1 database of the French Endocrine Tumor Group. The type of surgery was categorized as distal pancreatectomy (DP), total pancreatectomy/cephalic duodenopancreatectomy (TP/CDP), or enucleation (E). Primary endpoint was time until recurrence of hypoglycemia after initial surgery. Secondary endpoints were post-operative complications.

Results: The study included 73 patients (median age=28 years). Surgical procedures were DP (n=46), TP/CDP (n=9), or E (n=18). After a median post-operative follow-up of 9.0 years (inter-quartile range (IQR): 2.5-16.5 years), 60/73 patients (82.2%) remained hypoglycemia free. E and TP/CDP were associated with a higher risk of recurrent hypoglycemia episodes (unadjusted hazard ratio: 6.18 ((95% CI: 1.54-24.8); P=0.010) for E vs DP and 9.51 ((95% CI: 1.85-48.8); P=0.007) for TP/CDP vs DP. After adjustment for International Union against Cancer pTNM classification, enucleation remained significantly associated with a higher probability of recurrence. Long-term complications had occurred in 20 (43.5%) patients with DP, five (55.6%) with TP/CDP, but in none of the patients who have undergone E (P=0.002).

Conclusion: In the French Endocrine database, DP is associated with a lower risk for recurrent hypoglycemia episodes. Due to lower morbidity, E alone might be considered as an alternative.