2. Case Presentation
A 56 year old woman has had diarrhea for
8 years, initially intermittent and now daily
for 3 years. She stated “there’s not a
bathroom in the state that I have not
visited”. Diarrhea did not respond to OTC
medications.
3. 56 y.o. with diarrhea, continued
Past medical/surgical history:
– morbid obesity (BMI 42 kg/m2)
– status post TAH with BSO
• Family history:
– Mother: COPD, ulcers, kidney stones
– Father: MI
• Social history: negative
• ROS: negative
• Physical exam: morbid obesity.
• CBC and chem 14: all normal except for ALT 54.
• Stool microbiology studies negative.
• Sigmoidoscopy were normal.
4. Case: Imaging
• Upper GI/SBFT : thickening of folds of stomach
and proximal small intestine
• Abdominal CT scan: thick gastric folds; slight
prominence of the pancreatic head without a
distinct mass; single gallstone; diffuse fatty
infiltration of the liver.
• EGD: prominent gastric folds; excessive gastric
secretions (400 ml); no esophagitis or ulcers; 4
mm duodenal nodule biopsy: gastric
metaplasia
5. Biochemical tests
• Fasting serum gastrin 1,200 pg/ml
(normal, < 100)
• Basal acid output after referral and on
medication:
– 57.4 mmol per hr (normal, < 5 mmol/hr)
• Diagnosis: Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
6. GI Endocrine System vs.
Other Endocrine Tissues
Non-GI GI
Distribution of cells Discrete Glands Scattered cells or islands of
cells (islets) in GI tract/panc.
Regulation by
Hypothalamus/Pituitary
Common Minimal to non-existent
Hormonal assays
readily available
Yes No
Knowledge about physiology High Variable
Functional tumors* Common Uncommon
* Non-GI and GI tumors may coexist in the MEN-1 and MEN-2b syndromes
10. GI Peptides That Act
Principally as Neuropeptides
• Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)
• Dynorphin and related gene products
• Enkephalin and related gene products
• Galanin
• Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP)
• Neuromedin U
• Neuropeptide Y
• Peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI) or peptide histidine methionine
(PHM)
• Pituitary adenylate cyclase–activating peptide (PACAP)
• Substance P and other tachykinins (neurokinin A, neurokinin B)
• Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)
• VIP
11. Paracrine inhibition of G cell release by
somatostatin (STS) from adjacent D cells
Gastric antral mucosa
12. GI/Panreatic Peptides That May
Function as Hormones, Neuropeptides,
or Paracrine Agents
• Somatostatin
• Cholecystokinin (CCK)
• Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)
• Endothelin
• Neurotensin
18. Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome
• “Islet cell” tumor of the pancreas [or of the
duodenum]
• Hypergastrinemia
• Gastric acid hypersecretion
• Consequences of acid hypersecretion :
– PUD, GERD [ with or without complications]
– Diarrhea, malabsorption
19. Epidemiology of
Z-E syndrome
• Any age group ( mean age 50 years)
• Male : Female 3:2
• Annual incidence 0.5 - 1.0 per million
• MEN-1 in approximately 25% of cases
30. Symptoms in patients with the
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
• Pain and diarrhea 50-60%
• Pain without diarrhea 25%
• Diarrhea without pain 20%
• Heartburn ± dysphagia 30%
• MEN-1 features 20-25%
31. Locations of peptic ulcers
in ZE syndrome
• Duodenal bulb
• Post-bulbar
duodenum
• Jejunum
• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Marginal (stomal)
32. Clinical features suspicious for
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES)
• History of PUD and
nephrolithiasis
• Family history of PUD, kidney
stones
• PUD in the absence of
Helicobacter pylori or
NSAID usage
• PUD in association with
chronic diarrhea
• Post-bulbar duodenal ulcer
• Multiple duodenal and/or
jejunal ulcers
•PUD refractory to standard
medical therapy
33. Diagnosis of ZE Syndrome
• Begins with clinical suspicion
(pretest probability)
• Fasting serum gastrin measurement
– high sensitivity (> 95%)
– poor specificity, even at high levels
– modest positive predictive value
– excellent negative predictive value
35. Diagnosis of ZE Syndrome
• Fasting serum gastrin measurement
– high sensitivity (> 95%)
– low specificity and modest positive predictive
value can be enhanced with provocative
testing with secretin (2 IU/kg or 0.4 ug/kg i.v.)
or calcium infusion (4 mg/kg calcium
gluconate per hour for 3 hours), where
likelihood ratios increase 10-15 fold with a +
test result and decrease 10-fold with a - test
result
36. Management of ZE syndrome:
• Acid control takes precedence over tumor
search
• Tumor search is designed to find tumor
and to stage its/their extent
• Tumor search and possible resection for
cure is only prudent for patients who are
surgical candidates
44. MEN syndromes
• MEN-1:
• MEN 2a:
• MEN 2b:
• Parathyroid tumor(s)
• Pancreatic tumor
– gastrin, insulin, VIP
• Pituitary tumor
– prolactin, ACTH
• Medullary thyroid Ca or
hyperplasia
• Pheochromocytoma
• Parathyroid disease
• 2b , without parathyroid
• 2b, with gangioneuromatosis,
Marfanoid habitus
45. Genetics of MEN-1
• Germ cell mutation at 11q13 in 90% of
MEN-1, with loss of heterozygosity
implicated in endocrine tumorigenesis
• Chromosome 11q13 product is menin
• Function of menin ?
• Mutations in 11q13 also occur in several
cases of “sporadic” islet cell tumors such
as gastrinomas
51. Case, continued
• She was felt to be a poor surgical
candidate.
• In 1985 ranitidine was increased to 300
mg q6h and propantheline 7.5 mg q6h
added, with basal acid output < 5 mmol
per hr and relief of all symptoms.
• She was switched to a PPI in 1989 and
has remained asymptomatic despite
fasting serum gastrins > 1,000 pg/ml.
52. Clinical Course
• CT scans show variable changes in the
head of the pancreas and a few tiny low-
density hepatic lesions, cysts vs mets vs
focal fat.
• Current meds: glyburide, risedronate,
atorvastatin, and lansoprazole.
• Her basal acid output 24 hours after
lansoprazole (trough) was 0.
53.
54. What about her serum calcium?
1985: Ca 10.3, 9.4, 10.0, 10.1
PTH: 47 (0-50) ; 127 (50-150)
1989: Ca 9.7
1993: Ca 10.4
1994: Ca 9.7
2003: Ca 10.4 at PHD
PTH (intact): 76 (0-54)
Diagnosis: MEN-1 with ZE and hyperparathyroidism
55. Influence of liver metastases on
survival in gastrinoma patients
undergoing surgery
56. Prognostic factors in various
PETs for decreased survival
• Female gender
• Absence of MEN1 syndrome
• Presence of liver metastases
• Extent of liver metastases
• Presence of lymph node
metastases
• Growth of liver metastases
• Presence of bone metastases
• Incomplete tumor resection
• Nonfunctional tumor (worse
than functional) (p <0.01)
• Development of ectopic
Cushing’s syndrome
(gastrinomas)
• Increased depth of tumor
invasion
• Primary tumor size (>3 cm)
• Various histologic features
• Flow cytometric features (i.e.,
aneuploidy)
• Increased chromogranin A in
some studies
• Increased gastrin level (p
<0.001) (gastrinomas)
• Lack of progesterone
receptors
• Ha-Ras oncogene or p53
overexpression
• High HER2/neu gene
expression (gastrinomas)
• High 1q loss of heterozygosity
(gastrinomas)
• Increased EGF or IGF receptor
expression (gastrinomas)
• Loss of 1p, 3p, 3q, 6q; gain of
7q, 17, 17p, 20q