Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation of Metastatic Pancreatic VIPoma: A Novel Treatment

VIPomas are a rare type of functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs), causing symptoms due to their hypersecretion in the gastrointestinal tract. The rare association of PNETs with tumors of endocrine organs such as pituitary and parathyroid glands is called multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN1) syndrome. Due to their indolent course, VIPomas often present late in the illness and may already have metastatic disease. The index case had MEN1 syndrome with biopsy-proven small sub-centimetric metastatic VIPoma and a history of parathyroidectomy for nodules in the past. The patient had a suspicion of pancreatic cholera and, after an appropriate workup, was treated by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the metastatic pancreatic VIPomas. EUS-guided RFA is a procedure by which the lesions are viewed under endoscopic ultrasound and undergo coagulative necrosis due to the high temperatures the tissue is subjected to. The application of EUS-guided radiofrequency ablation for sub-centimetric metastatic pancreatic VIPoma as a daycare procedure can be a valuable tool in its management.