Metabolic remission with octreotide in patients with insulinoma

OBJECTIVES: The efficacy of octreotide was studied in a group of patients with biochemical evidence of insulinoma. DESIGN: A phase-II study. SETTING: A university department of internal medicine. SUBJECTS: Seven patients with biochemical evidence of insulinoma and without metastatic lesions. INTERVENTION: Daily treatment with octreotide, a somatostatin analogue, mainly within the dosage of 100-300 micrograms day-1. The treatment was continued in patients with biochemical evidence of response or until surgery was undertaken. MAIN OUTCOME: Five patients avoided hypoglycaemic symptoms and had normalization of blood glucose values for a median of 15+ months (range 0.2-54 months). Two did not improve metabolically. The treatment was well tolerated and had no deleterious effects on blood glucose regulation. CONCLUSION: Octreotide seems to be a promising treatment for many of the patients with insulinoma who are not suitable for surgery.