Yoshiaki Shinden, Kosei Maemura, Motoyuki Hashiguchi, Yota Kawasaki, Hiroshi Kurahara, Yuko Mataki, Satoshi Ino, Masahiko Sakoda and Shoji Natsugoe
Background An insulinoma is an insulin-secreting neoplasm of the pancreas. In the period from first symptoms to treatment, patients with an insulinoma can experience hypoglycemic symptoms repeatedly. Some patients gain weight when they relieve insulinoma-induced hypoglycemic symptoms by ingesting excess food. In this study, we focus on the changes in body weight in patients with an insulinoma and the relationships of those changes to other clinicopathological factors and clinical data. Methods Patients with insulinoma who underwent curative surgical treatment at Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan, between 1995 and 2016 were enrolled in this study and their clinical status was evaluated retrospectively. Results Among the 19 patients enrolled, 8 (42%) gained weight and 1 (5%) lost weight. The median monthly net change in body weight was 0.58% (range, -3.9 to 7.0) between onset of the first symptom and until surgery. When we evaluated the relationships among tumor size, serum glucose, serum insulin concentrations and body weight change, a significant correlation was observed among tumor size, serum insulin concentrations and body weight change. Serum glucose concentrations had no significant correlation with other factors. Conclusion Based on the results of this study, changes in preoperative body weight was one of the important parameters linked to severe clinical manifestations of insulinoma.