A case of malignant insulinoma: successful control of glycemic fluctuation by replacing octreotide injections with octreotide LAR injections

Octreotide LAR was useful for avoiding hypoglycemia in an elderly patient with insulinoma

An 80-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a hypoglycemia attack. She was diagnosed with insulinoma based on her high insulin level at the time of the hypoglycemia attack and the presence of a hypervascular tumor in her pancreas. The patient refused surgical treatment and octreotide was used to prevent hypoglycemia.It is known that octreotide suppresses the secretion of insulin from the pancreas; however, insulin secretion is not always suppressed in patients with insulinoma. Moreover, there is no particular protocol for the use of octreotide in the treatment of insulinoma.We examined the effect of octreotide in preventing hypoglycemia using CGM. The injection of octreotide (50 μg) at 21: 00 prevented hypoglycemia during the night.However the patient could not perform self-injection due to the sequelae of a cerebral infarction. We therefore chose to have her eat an extra meal at 11 pm.After a while the patient became exhausted by eating meals at night. We examined the effects of octreotide LAR using CGM, and it was found to prevent hypoglycemia for 4 weeks. The patient's QOL was improved by being released from a restriction that affected her daily life.

Insulinoma: A rare cause of hypoglycemia in a young female

Insulinoma is an exceedingly uncommon pancreatic islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. The estimated incidence is approximately four cases per million individuals per year and accounts for 60% of islets cell tumors. It causes glycopenic symptoms which includes headache, feeling irritable, confused, seizure or coma and leads to catecholamine excess which includes rapid heartbeat, sweating, palpitations and feelings of hunger. Early detection of the tumor prevents recurrent episodes of lethal hypoglycemia.