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A rare combination consisting of primary hyperaldosteronism and glucagonoma
1Second Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
A 59-yr-old man with multiple pancreatic tumors is presented. Previously, he had undergone left adrenalectomy for primary hyperaldosteronism and left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma at the ages of 39 and 55 yr, respectively. This time, 3 yr after removal of renal cancer, two solid lesions in the pancreas associated with hyperglucagonemia were detected. Under a diagnosis of pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma or islet cell tumor of the pancreas, distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy and enucleation of the tumor in the pancreas head were performed. Microscopically, a glucagonoma, measuring 2.3 mm in diameter, was detected among five pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma. Four years after surgery, the patient remains well, without signs of recurrence despite multiple pancreatic metastases. This is the first report of such a rare combination consisting of aldosterone-secreting adrenal adenoma and glucagonoma.