Glucagonoma
- * Glucagonoma: Neuroendocrine Tumor of pancreatic islet cells that leads to elevated levels of glucagon.
- Rare
- Usually solitary, sporadic, and present in patients 50+ y.o.
- Inherited forms are associated with MEN 1
- Pathophysiology:
- Glucagon acts on the liver to increase gluconeogenesis and amino acid oxidation.
- Patients often experience weight loss, diarrhea, necrolytic migratory erythema, venous thrombosus, and glucose intolerance (diabetes mellitus). Many experience neuropsychiatric abnormalities.
- Diagnosis: Symptoms, elevated glucagon, and imaging studies.
- Treatment: treat diabetes, nutritional supplementation, and Somatostatin analogs to counter glucagon hypersection.
- Often metastatic, particularly to the liver and bones, via the lymph nodes.