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. 2015 Aug;10(2):1113-1116.
doi: 10.3892/ol.2015.3275. Epub 2015 May 27.

Glucagonoma syndrome: A case report

Jishu Wei  1 , Shibo Lin  1 , Cong Wang  2 , Junli Wu  1 , Zhuyin Qian  1 , Cuncai Dai  1 , Kuirong Jiang  1 , Y I Miao  1
Affiliations

Glucagonoma syndrome: A case report

Jishu Wei et al. Oncol Lett. 2015 Aug.

Abstract

Necrolytic migratory erythema (NME), diabetes mellitus and glucagon-secreting tumors form the hallmarks of glucagonoma syndrome, and represent the major clinical manifestations of glucagonoma. NME is usually presented as the initial complaint of patients. Due to the rare incidence of glucagonoma, its diagnosis is often delayed, which leads to its progression. Here, we report a case of NME with a typical skin rash, which was misdiagnosed and treated with corticosteroids for two years. Removal of the tumor in the pancreatic body led to the rapid relief of the symptoms. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the typical characteristics of glucagonoma syndrome to clinicians in order to improve its diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus; glucagonoma; necrolytic migratory erythema.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Skin lesions of glucagonoma. (A) Necrolytic migratory erythema. (B) Cheilitis and glossitis. (C) Skin lesions with erosions, serous exudate and crusting. (D) Pathology of the skin biopsy, observed with hematoxylin and eosin staining (magnification, x100).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Tumor mass identified by computed tomography (CT) scan and surgical resection. (A) CT scanning indicated the pancreatic body tumor. (B) Laparotomy confirmed the tumor in the pancreatic body. (C) Resected tumor.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Changes in skin lesions following treatment. (A) Skin lesion upon admission. (B) Changes in skin lesions following treatment of octreotide and intravenous amino acid infusion. (C) Relief of skin lesion one week after surgery.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Pathological and immunohistochemistry analysis of glucagonoma. (A) Pathological analysis of tumor by hematoxyling and eosin staining (magnification, x100). (B) Positive staining of synaptophysin and (C) chromogranin by immunohistochemistry (magnification, x40).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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