Clinical Radiology (2005) 60, 1039–1050
REVIEW
Multimodality preoperative imaging of pancreatic
insulinomas
G. McAuleya, H. Delaneya, J. Colvillea, I. Lyburnb, D. Worsleyc,
P. Govendera, W.C. Torreggiania,*
Departments of Radiology aThe Adelaide and Meath Hospital incorporating The National Children’s
Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Ireland; bCheltenham Hospital, Cheltenham, UK; and cNuclear Medicine,
Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Received 23 December 2004; received in revised form 29 May 2005; accepted 1 June 2005
KEYWORDS
Insulinomas; Islet cell
tumour; Hypoglycaemia; CT; MRI;
Octreotide
Pancreatic insulinomas are rare tumours of the islet cells of the pancreas, which
account for the majority of functional neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas.
There is often a typical history of recurrent hypoglycaemic collapse and dizzy spells.
Insulinomas are usually solitary, and the vast majority are intra-pancreatic in
location. They are characteristically small with approximately 66% being less than
2 cm at presentation. Insulinomas continue to pose a diagnostic challenge to
physicians, surgeons and radiologists alike. The role of imaging is to detect and
provide precise anatomical localization and staging of tumours prior to surgery. Due
to their small size at clinical presentation, they are notoriously difficult to localize
radiologically, and specifically designed protocols are necessary to aid detection. In
this review, we describe the current “state of the art” imaging protocols that may be
used in the preoperative localization of insulinomas.
Q 2005 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Pancreatic insulinomas are a rare tumour of the
islet cells of the pancreas. They account for the
majority of functional neuroendocrine tumours of
the pancreas (Table 1). The incidence is about one
case per 250,000 patient-years, and there is a slight
female predominance with a female-to-male ratio
of 3:2.1 The median age at diagnosis is about 50
years, except when patients with insulinoma have
associated multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1
(MEN 1), in whom the median age drops to the
mid 20s. Insulinomas are characteristically small
with approximately 66% being less than 2 cm at
presentation.2 Even though these tumours tend to
* Guarantor and correspondent: W.C. Torreggiani, Department
of Radiology, Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24,
Ireland. Tel.: C353 14143700; fax: C353 14143805.
E-mail address: william.torreggiani@amnch.ie (W.C.
Torreggiani).
be small, the functionality of these lesions causes
their early presentation. There is often a typical
history of recurrent hypoglycaemic collapse and
dizzy spells. These symptoms combined with
biochemical evidence of fasting hyperinsulinaemia
often allow the diagnosis to be made. Insulinomas
are usually solitary (95%) and the vast majority
(98%) are intra-pancreatic in location. Most insulinomas are benign (90%) with metastatic disease
being rare.3 They are generally very vascular
lesions, may be cystic, and may rarely calcify.
Insulinomas are the most common cause of
hypoglycaemia resulting from endogenous hyperinsulinism. Insulinomas continue to pose a diagnostic challenge to physicians, surgeons and
radiologists alike. The role of imaging is to detect
and provide precise anatomical localization and
staging of tumours prior to surgery. Due to their
small size at clinical presentation, they are
notoriously difficult to localize radiologically, and
specifically designed protocols are necessary to aid
0009-9260/$ - see front matter Q 2005 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.crad.2005.06.005
1040
Table 1
G. McAuley et al.
Neuroendocrine tumours
Non-functioning islet cell tumours (60%)
Functioning islet cell tumours (40%)
No hormone excretion
Often large
Present late
Greater than 50% malignant
Hormone excretion
Often small
Present early
Include: insulinoma (55%), gastrinoma (36%), vipoma (5%), glucagonoma (3%),
somatostatinoma (1%)
detection. In this review, we present an overview of
the imaging of insulinomas in current day practice
and describe the options available for preoperative
localization.
Clinical presentation
The symptoms and features of patients with
insulinomas are largely related to excessive release
of insulin into the bloodstream from the tumour. Up
to 85% of patients present with diplopia, blurred
vision, palpitations, or weakness.4 Other symptoms
include abnormal behaviour, confusion and amnesia. Grand mal seizures occur in 12% of patients.
Hunger may be a prominent symptom and weight
gain occurs in about 30% of patients. Symptoms
caused by mass effects of local tumour mass are
very rare as tumours are usually less than 2 cm in
size at presentation. Symptoms may be present
from 1 week to as long as several decades before
the diagnosis. Hypoglycaemia usually occurs several
hours after a meal. In severe cases, symptoms may
develop in the postprandial period. Symptoms can
be aggravated by exercise, alcohol and a low calorie
diet.
Biochemical presentation
The presence of hypoglycaemia in the face of
inappropriately elevated levels of insulin is the key
to diagnosis of an insulinoma.5 The calculation of an
abnormal ratio of insulin to plasma glucose is
diagnostic. During a monitored fast, a low blood
glucose level and high serum insulin level enable
diagnosis to be made. In healthy individuals, the
islet cells of the pancreas secrete equal amounts of
insulin and C-peptide into the bloodstream. These
molecules are derived from the same inactive
precursor, proinsulin.6 Normally, less than 20% of
proinsulin is released directly into the circulation.
Factitious insulin administration can be ruled out by
demonstrating elevated C-peptide levels, which are
found exclusively with endogenous insulin hypersecretion. Whipple’s triad is a useful combination of
findings that occur during fasting which help establish
the diagnosis in most patients.6 During prolonged
fasting (up to 72 h) Whipple’s triad consists of: (a)
patient symptoms occurring during the fast; (b)
symptoms occur in the presence of hypoglycaemia;
and (c) ingestion of carbohydrates relieves the
symptoms. The combination of these findings allows
an accurate diagnosis of insulinoma in most cases.
Radiological diagnosis
Overview
Imaging to localize insulinomas should only take
place once the diagnosis has been confirmed
biochemically.7 It must be remembered that the
role of imaging is not to diagnose insulinomas, but
to identify and localize the tumour.8 As tumours are
usually less than 2 cm in size, they may be invisible
on conventional imaging and specific dedicated
sequences need to be employed to detect small
lesions. Two fundamental features of these
tumours aid radiological detection: (a) most insulinomas are vascular and are best visualized in
arterial phase imaging. Tailoring computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
sequences to optimize this factor is essential in
maximizing visualization. (b) As insulinomas are
functional neuroendocrine tumours, this factor can
be used by employing functional imaging with
radiolabelled somatostatin analogues such as
octreotide. The majority of insulinomas contain
somatostatin receptors subtype 2 to which octreotide binds thus enabling detection. Although
ectopic insulinomas do occur and may be found in
the stomach and duodenum, they are extremely
rare and account for less than 1% of cases. For this
reason, attempts to localize an insulinoma radiologically should be focussed specifically on the
pancreas. No histological criteria are available to
distinguish benign from malignant insulinomas.
Malignant tumours are usually larger (average size
6.2 cm), and one third would have metastasized to
the liver. Insulinoma tumour cells contain less
insulin and secretory granules than normal B cells
Multimodality preoperative imaging of pancreatic insulinomas
1041
Figure 1 Insulinoma in a patient with Von Hippel-Lindau disease. (a) Longitudinal ultrasound demonstrates a 1.5 cm
area of low echogenicity within the pancreatic head. (b) On colour Doppler interrogation, the mass shows evidence of
typical hypervascularity.
but higher levels of proinsulin. Atypical granules, or
even agranular cells, are frequent. Thus, the extent
to which one attempts to define the anatomy of the
beta cell lesion before surgery is a matter of
judgment. Successful preoperative tumour localization is achieved in about 60% of patients.
Traditionally, intra-operative ultrasound imaging
with manual palpation was the gold standard for
localizing insulinoma once a biochemical diagnosis
had been confirmed. With a sensitivity of over 80%
for intra-operative detection, the value of preoperative imaging has been questioned in the past.9
However, preoperative imaging enables more
accurate surgery, which may spare the patient an
unnecessary total pancreatectomy and its associated morbidities, and facilitates the detection of
metastases. Furthermore, it avoids prolonging the
duration of surgery and potential intra-operative
damage to major structures such as the splenic
vein. With recent advances in non-invasive imaging
giving a detection rate fast approaching that of
intra-operative imaging, the present consensus is
generally that preoperative localization is
worthwhile.
When evaluating patients for insulinoma, it should
be noted that insulinomas have some specific
associations that may need to be addressed. Insulinomas may occur as part of the MEN 1 syndrome. This
association needs to be evaluated by excluding the
hyperprolactinaemia due to a pituitary adenoma
and hyperparathyroidism due to parathyroid hyperplasia. In addition, insulinomas may occur as part of
the Von Hippel Lindau syndrome, and these patients
need to be assessed for the presence of renal and
other pancreatic masses as well as neurological
manifestations.
1042
G. McAuley et al.
Figure 2 Endoscopic ultrasound demonstrates a well-defined rounded hypoechoic insulinoma within the body of the
pancreas (arrow). The lesion was not clearly visible on trans-abdominal ultrasonography.
Figure 3 Insulinoma of the pancreatic tail. (a) Arterial phase contrast-enhanced CT demonstrates marked
enhancement of a 2 cm mass within the tail of the pancreas (arrow). (b) Pathological specimen demonstrates
characteristic pale well-defined mass consistent with an insulinoma.
Multimodality preoperative imaging of pancreatic insulinomas
Figure 4 Multiphase CT in a patient with a large islet cell tumour of the pancreas. (a) Non contrast-enhanced CT demonstrates a 9 cm mass within the pancreatic head.
(b) Arterial phase imaging demonstrates marked vascular enhancement of the lesion. Note that the mass enhances more than the adjacent pancreas helping to increase
conspicuity of the lesion. (c) Portal venous phase imaging demonstrates persistent enhancement of the mass. There is minor dilatation of the pancreatic duct.
(d) Equilibrium phase CT demonstrates washout from the mass with the mass now having similar attenuation to the remaining pancreas.
1043
1044
G. McAuley et al.
Figure 5 Non-enhancing insulinoma. Arterial phase CT demonstrating atypical features of a non-enhancing mass in the
tail of the pancreas (arrow).
Abdominal ultrasound (Fig. 1)
Abdominal ultrasound was one of the first imaging
techniques available in this field, but has a poor to
moderate detection rate, with figures ranging from
0–66%. One study quoted a sensitivity of 79%, but
this has not been reproduced elsewhere.10 Accurate
imaging is limited by the small size of the tumour,
interference by other intra-abdominal organs, and
obese patients. Tumours located in the body and
tail of the pancreas are particularly difficult to
visualize. Ultrasound is also operator dependent to
a certain degree. Advantages include the possible
detection of liver metastases, although rare. In
addition, the employment of Doppler assessment
may aid the investigation of the vascularity of these
lesions. More importantly this investigation is safe,
rapid, non-invasive and relatively inexpensive. It is
readily available in most institutions. A recent case
report described the use of contrast enhancement
in abdominal ultrasound successfully detecting a
small insulinoma for which CT, MRI and ultrasound
had been negative.9 Further investigation is warranted to determine if this result is reproducible. If
so, this could provide a feasible alternative to CT
and MRI in the future.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS; Fig. 2)
The advent of EUS brought preoperative imaging to
a new level comparable with that of intraoperative. Sensitivities of 80—90% have consistently
been described, detecting tumours as small as
2 mm.11 It enables visualization of the pancreas
with an accurate analysis of the relationship of the
tumour to vital structures such as the biliary and
pancreatic ducts. Local metastases and invasion
may be detected. It also potentially facilitates a
preoperative tissue diagnosis by means of fineneedle aspiration (FNA). The role of EUS in the
evaluation of entero-pancreatic endocrine tumours
has evolved in conjunction with advances in other
imaging methods. The high spatial resolution of this
technique enables the detection of very small
lesions and their precise anatomical location. EUS
is recommended for screening asymptomatic
patients with genetically proven MEN1.12 EUS can
be effectively used as a first-line investigation, with
a sensitivity of 94% in these patients.13 The use of
EUS therefore greatly enhances preoperative planning. Unfortunately, however, this is an invasive
investigation and relatively operator dependent. It
carries the attendant risks of upper gastroinestinal
endoscopy, though no significant morbidity has
been described. Cost, availability and expertise
are further limitations.
CT (Figs. 3—5)
CT is safe, simple to perform and operator
independent. CT imaging visualizes the exact
location of tumour, its relationship to vital structures, and the presence of metastases. As insulinomas are highly vascular in the arterial phase,
modern contrast-enhanced imaging has focused on
this property to aid detection. Precise bolus timing
is critical in optimizing visualization. However,
initial results using CT to visualize insulinomas
were disappointing, with reported sensitivities as
Multimodality preoperative imaging of pancreatic insulinomas
1045
Figure 6 Multi-sequence MRI of a patient with a 3 cm insulinoma of the tail of the pancreas. (a) Axial T2-weighted MR image demonstrates a 3 cm mass within the tail of
the pancreas. The mass is predominantly of high signal compared with the rest of the pancreas. (b) Axial T1-weighted breath-hold fast gradient imaging without contrast
demonstrates the lesion to be isointense to the pancreas. (c) Axial gadolinium-enhanced late arterial phase breath-hold T1 fast gradient imaging demonstrates marked
heterogeneous enhancement of the pancreatic tail mass. (d) Coronal gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted fast gradient imaging eloquently demonstrate the relationship of
the mass (arrow) to its surrounding structures.
1046
G. McAuley et al.
Figure 7 (a) Arterial phase CT demonstrates a subtle enhancing mass in the head of the pancreas in a patient with
clinical and biochemical features of insulinoma (arrow). (b) Selective coeliac artery angiogram shows an area of
corresponding blush radiating from a branch of the distal gastroduodenal artery (arrow).
low as 21%.14 The small size of the tumour and the
difficulty in distinguishing from normal parenchyma are the major obstacles in CT imaging. Novel
techniques with rapid phase contrast-enhanced
imaging have made a significant impact in
identifying theses lesions. The sensitivity of CT
in the detection of insulinomas has improved
consistently in the last two decades. With
experience and advances in technology, the
sensitivities of detection rates of insulinoma are
over 80%. Much investigation has gone into
determining the optimal phase for detection and
the consensus shows that the use of CT in the
early phases is the most sensitive.15,16 Rapid
injection of high concentration contrast medium
during the early arterial phase enables the
operator to capture the tumour blush.17 However,
there are conflicting opinions as to whether the
early arterial or portal venous phase is best, and a
recent study described promising results with the
early pancreatic phase. Much of the evidence
seems to support the early arterial phase.
Technical advances have improved the quality of
CT, with a recent study using dual-phase, thinsection multidetector CT visualizing 94.4% of
insulinomas as compared with 28.6% with sequential CT.17 Another study using multiphasic, helical
CT detected 63% of tumours prospectively and
83% retrospectively. The false-negative results
were due to unusual tumour appearances and
close proximity to vessels.18 CT is currently
accepted as the first-line investigation.19
Multimodality preoperative imaging of pancreatic insulinomas
1047
Figure 8 Small pancreatic insulinoma. Twenty-four hour anterior and posterior whole images from an In-111
octreotide study demonstrate uptake within the pancreas in keeping with a small insulinoma. Note normal high uptake
within the spleen.
MRI (Fig. 6)
Currently there is strong evidence emerging for the
use of MRI in imaging insulinoma.20 Like CT, it is
safe, non-invasive, rapid and facilitates the detection of metastases. Limitations include the standard contra-indications to MRI. More specifically,
there are difficulties with motion artefact, low
signal-to-noise ratio, and poor contrast of tumour
against normal parenchyma. An early study demonstrated a sensitivity of only 7%,18 but the most
recent literature reports sensitivities of over
90%.14,21 The use of fat-suppressed, T1-weighted
imaging with spin-echo has been suggested to image
the pancreas in previous studies.21,22 However
modern MRI systems now allow rapid tri-phasic,
breath-held T1 rapid gadolinium-enhanced
sequences. These sequences help to significantly
reduce motion artefact and enable accurate assessment of the pancreas in both arterial and venous
phases. In addition, MRI enables accurate assessment
of the tumour location in terms of resectability and
major vessel involvement.23 Lymphadenopathy and
metastatic disease may also be detected. Sensitivities have now been described of up to 92%.21,24 MRI
has all the advantages of CT and recent evidence
suggests that it may be the more sensitive tool.
Drawbacks include cost, specific contra-indications
and more limited availability as compared with CT. In
current practice MRI is a second-line investigation,
but potentially could take over from CT in the future
as it becomes more widely available and expertise
improves.
Selective arteriography and hepatic
venography (Fig. 7)
Selective arteriography of the coeliac axis and
pancreatic arterial supply is felt by some experts to
be the best overall preoperative localization
procedure. Sensitivities of up to 66% have been
described,25,26 however, there is a false-positive
rate of 5%. Combining arteriography with CT has
been tried but does not significantly increase
sensitivity.10 Arteriography with catheterization of
small arterial branches of the celiac system
combined with calcium injections (which stimulate
insulin release from neoplastic tissue but not from
normal islets), and simultaneous measurements of
1048
G. McAuley et al.
Figure 9 Large pancreatic insulinoma. Twenty-four hour anterior and posterior whole images from an In-111
octreotide study in a 67-year-old woman. CT (not shown) demonstrated a lobulated, enhancing tumour mass at the level
of the coeliac artery measuring 5!3 cm. In this image, the tumour mass is In-111 octreotide avid and was confirmed to
represent an insulinoma at pathology.
hepatic vein insulin during each selective calcium
injection localizes tumours in 47% of patients. In some
studies up to 100% of insulinomas have been detected
with transhepatic venous sampling.27 Otherwise
sensitivities of 55—76% are described in most of the
literature. Both arteriography and venography are
relatively invasive techniques. In addition they are
operator dependent and require a high level of
expertise, as well as specialized facilities. They are
also time-consuming, costly procedures, which carry
a number of significant risks. Epigastric pain, transient
haemobilia, hepatic haematoma, biliary leak and
haemorrhage are among the potential complications.
Another localization technique using preoperative
portal venous sampling is now considered obsolete as
a routine investigation because of a high complication
rate (10%). It may be employed occasionally when all
other imaging procedures fail and surgical exploration
findings are negative.
Functional imaging (Figs. 8—10)
More recently, functional imaging with radiolabelled
isotopes such as octreotide adds a further tool in the
evaluation and detection of insulinomas.28 The
sensitivity of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy is
60%, although some insulinomas lack somatostatin
receptor subtype 2 for successful identification.29
Positron emission tomography plays only a
limited role. It may detect the presence of a
neuroendocrine tumour, and may have a limited
role in the evaluation of operability of malignant
lesions and the presence of metastatic disease. A
further technique used in the past was tumour
localization using iodine 13-labelled anti-insulin
antibodies. Sensitivities of up to 50% were
achieved. However, the procedure has largely
been abandoned due to an unacceptably high
false-positive rate of a 37.5%.
Multimodality preoperative imaging of pancreatic insulinomas
1049
insulinomas, metastatic insulinomas, and in those
who will not or cannot undergo surgery for other
reasons. Medical therapy is designed to prevent
hypoglycaemia, and in patients with malignant
tumours, to reduce the tumour burden. Diazoxide
is related to the thiazide diuretics and reduces
insulin secretion. Octreotide prevents hypoglycaemia, provided insulinoma tumour cells have
somatostatin receptors subtype 2 present.
Conclusion
Figure 10 Anterior positron emission tomography
images of a patient with malignant islet cell tumour of
the pancreas with extensive liver metastases.
Treatment and prognosis
In the vast majority of cases, surgical excision
provides a cure and is the treatment of choice.30
Simple enucleation is the procedure of choice in
insulinomas in the pancreatic head. Total pancreatectomy is usually avoided because of its high
morbidity and mortality. As most tumours are
benign, complete cure occurs in up to 90% of
patients. Patients with malignant insulinoma have a
much better prognosis compared with those with a
pancreatic ductal malignancy, and pancreatic
resection with regional lymph node dissection
seems to be a rational procedure in such cases. If
insulinoma is associated with MEN 1, the management strategy is modified because tumours are
often multiple, diffusely spread in the pancreas,
and of small size. Subtotal pancreatectomy with
enucleation of tumours from the pancreatic head
and uncinate process is often recommended over
simple enucleation. The overall postoperative
mortality is approximately 7.7%.31 The median
survival from metastatic disease to the liver ranges
from 16—26 months.31 Medical therapy with diazoxide or a somatostatin analogue such as octreotide
is indicated in patients with unresectable malignant
Insulinomas are rare islet cell functional neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas. They typically
present when they are small in size due to their
symptomatic release of insulin causing hypoglycaemic effects. The diagnosis is therefore often
suggested clinically with biochemical testing confirming the diagnosis. The role of imaging is
predominantly used to identify the tumour and
assess its location within the pancreas and relationship to other structures. The combination of
modern imaging techniques has helped in the
preoperative detection of these difficult lesions.
In this review we have demonstrated the strengths
and weaknesses of the various available imaging
techniques in aiding tumour detection. In addition,
we have emphasized the importance of technique
optimization in lesion detection. Although insulinomas are rare, knowledge of the various radiological
features of these tumours is essential as it is the
radiologist who is mainly responsible for the
preoperative detection of these lesions.
Acknowledgements
Courtesy of Dr Wai Lup Wong, Mount Vernon
Hospital, London.
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