Current imaging and possible therapeutic management of glucagonoma tumors: a case report.

Glucagonomas, like other neuroendocrine tumors, express somatostatin receptors in more than 80% of cases. Unfortunately, because of the rarity of these tumors, the sensitivity and specificity of somatostatin analog (octreotide) imaging have not been established. Nonetheless, there have been limited reports in the literature supporting the use of indium In-111 DTPA N-terminal D-phenylalanine (D-PHE1) octreotide for glucagonoma imaging and may be most beneficial as an adjuvant to conventional imaging for tumor staging and therapeutic decision making. Current therapeutic applications of octreotide focus on stabilization of disease in tumors expressing somatostatin receptors, and tumor destruction, using beta-emitting isotopes. In this report, imaging of a glucagonoma with In-111 DTPA-D-PHE1 octreotide scintigraphy is described in a 51-year-old woman examined for a large palpable abdominal mass.