The Evolution of Pancreatic Islet Function in a Diabetic Patient after Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasm Surgery: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) are rare primary tumors of the pancreas. Although these tumors are heterogeneous and can be classified as functional or non-functional according to pancreatic endocrine biomarkers, the more prevalent type is non-functional pNENs with endocrine differentiation but with non-specific symptoms and often late diagnoses. The treatment option for patients often involves surgical management, but the reported outcomes, especially on insulin secretion change and the trend of diabetes in these patients, varied to date. Hence, the purpose of this clinical report is to study the functional change of pancreatic β- cell corresponding to the mass of tumorectomy of pNEN in a diabetic patient. Case Presentation: We reported that a 39-year-old man with diabetes was found complicated with neuroendocrine neoplasm. He was admitted to the General Surgery of our hospital for further examination and therapy. The patient received a pancreatectomy + splenectomy + lymphadenectomy on the pancreatic body and tail. We analyzed the pancreatic mass change and performed Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) before and after the surgery to evaluate the function of the pancreas. Conclusions: This case may provide us a reference to predict the extent of islet function loss before the pancreatectomy, and apply personalized hypoglycemic therapy after surgery in these patients.