[VIP and GIP-producing pancreatic tumour: relationship to the Verner-Morrison syndrome]

A 59-year-old man had explosive watery diarrhoea, tendency towards collapse, flushes and aphonia. Pre-operative serum concentrations of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) were up to 1030 ng/l, those of gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) up to 2675 ng/l, as measured by radioimmunoassay. Cross-reaction by antisera used in the radioimmunoassay were excluded. Pancreatic tumour was diagnosed by ultrasound and by elective coeliac arteriography. After excision the abnormal fidings disappeared as did the symptoms. Biological half-life of plasma-VIP (determined during removal of the tumour from plasma samples by radioimmunoassay) was about 45 minutes. The tumour produced both VIP and GIP.