A Case of a Minute Glucagonoma as an Incidentaloma Exposed in a Pancreas Resected for a Carcinoma of the Ampulla of Vater

Yutaka Shiino, Shunzo Ozaki and Masato Komuro

Department of Surgery, Musashino General Hospital

We report a case of a 1.8 mm asymptomatic glucagonoma incidentally discovered without preoperative diagnosis in a resected specimen of a carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater. A 55-year-old woman hospitalized for icterus, brown urine and general fatigue was found to have obstructive jaundice due to carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater. No glucose intolerance, skin lesion, or tumor of the pancreas was identified preoperatively. She underwent pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy. A tumor 1.8 mm in size was found in the head of the pancreas and carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater. Immunohistologic labeling showed it to be glucagonoma. In recent years, reports of glucagonoma have increased in number as a result of progress in diagnostics. Glucagonoma, however, incidentally discovered in a resected specimen or as small as 1.8 mm is extremely rare.

Key words
glucagonoma, incidentaloma

Reprint requests
Yutaka Shiino Department of Surgery, Musashino General Hospital
977-9 Obukuroshinden, Kawagoe, 350-1167 JAPAN

Accepted
October 29, 2003

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