Gastrinoma

From Felipedia

Anatomy of the stomach region, where gastrinomas usually occur (distal third)

andoscopic view of distal third of stomach leading into an inflated duodenum. The gastrinoma is located near bottom

Histological appearance of a gastrinoma

Chronic gastritis and gastric ulcer disease are produced secondary to a gastrin-secreting tumour that arises from the pancreatic islet cells (called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome). This is a rare disease that has only been described in three older cats.

The pancreatic tumour may occur as a solitary lesion, or there may be multiple lesions on the liver due to metastasis.

Clinical signs

Typical signs include chronic vomiting, weight loss and anorexia in a cat previously diagnosed with gastritis and gastric ulcers on histopathological examination of the stomach, but unresponsive to routine therapy.

Diagnosis

The gastritis and gastric ulcer disease are diagnosed by endoscopy and histological examination of the stomach and duodenum. However, to make a definitive diagnosis of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, a serum gastrin level must be obtained along with the finding of a discrete tumour on the pancreatic islets. Very high levels of serum gastrin are obtained in cats with gastrinoma.

Differential diagnosis

There are rare tumours of the gastrointestinal tract, so even finding elevated serum gastrin levels is not sufficient, since there are other causes for elevations in serum gastrin levels (e.g. renal failure)

References

1. Rand, J (2006) Problem-based feline medicine. Saunders Elsevier, Sydney