Malignant insulinoma usually has a poor prognosis, as no efficient medical treatment is available. The somatostatin analogs octreotide and lanreotide have limited ability to control the hypoglycemic events. Pasireotide is a multi-receptor targeted somatostatin-analog with improved affinity for SSTR5. There is to date no reported treatment experience with this drug in such tumors.
Case description: A 72-year-old patient with a G2 stage IV insulinoma, who underwent excision of the primary pancreatic tumor and multiple hepatic metastases, required further treatment for recurrent hypoglycemic events. The glycemic control achieved with pasireotide LAR was better compared with lanreotide and everolimus. However, none of these treatments showed tumor anti-proliferative effects.
Conclusions: Pasireotide monthly injections achieved improved glycemic control in a patient with malignant insulinoma and recurrent hypoglycemic events compared with other medical treatments.