Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dogs with rare pancreatic tumors making IGF-II causing low blood sugar
By Finotello, R et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2016·Small Animal Teaching Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine pancreatic islet cell tumours secreting insulin-like growth factor type 2: a rare entity.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with a rare type of pancreatic tumor that produced insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II), leading to low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). The dog underwent surgery to remove the tumor, and while two of the six affected dogs had metastases, four dogs remained healthy and in remission for over a year after treatment. This type of tumor is different from more common insulinomas because it does not produce insulin. The dog’s recovery suggests that surgery can be effective for this rare condition.
People also search for: dog pancreatic tumor symptoms · hypoglycemia in dogs · IGF-II tumor treatment · dog surgery for pancreatic cancer · low blood sugar in dogs
Abstract
Insulin-like growth factor type II (IGF-II) is the main cause of non-islet cell tumour hypoglycaemia (NICTH) and insulin is thought to be the only factor causing hypoglycaemia in insulinomas. However, two case reports of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PNETs) producing IGF-II have been previously published: a human and a canine patient. In this study, we investigated clinical, histopathological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features, and biological behaviour of canine pancreatic IGF-II-omas, a subgroup of PNETs that has not been previously characterized. Case records of 58 dogs with confirmed PNETs and hypoglycaemia were reviewed: six patients were affected by IGF-II-omas. Surgery was performed in all cases and two dogs had metastases. Four patients remained alive and in remission at 370, 440, 560 and 890 days post-diagnosis; two died of non-tumour-related causes. IGF-II-omas can be differentiated from insulinomas through hypoinsulinaemia, IGF-II positive and insulin negative immunostaining. The prevalence of this neoplasia is low, accounting for just 6% of PNETs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24428588/