Every person on Earth has at least one disease, but not everyone knows about its presence. The fact is that many diseases make themselves felt only after a long period of time. Such diseases are especially dangerous for human life, because the longer the disease develops in the body, the more difficult it is to treat. A striking example of this are various tumors. This article will focus on a benign pancreatic tumor, which is often treated without serious consequences, but the hidden process of its development can cause many complications.
general description
A benign pancreatic tumor is one of the rarest human diseases. Doctors register only a couple of cases per 1 million people, but pathologists have different statistics: 1 case per 5000 autopsies. This is explained by the fact that the tumor makes itself felt only in case of stretching of the pancreatic capsule, when the neoplasm reaches a large size. More on symptoms we will return a little lower.
There are several subspecies of this disease, but they are all grouped. This group, as well as many other diseases, is assigned a statistical code for ICD 10. For benign pancreatic tumors, the main code is D13.6, but a separate one is allocated for islet cell tumors - D13.7.
The difference between malignant and benign tumors
Benign neoplasms have a number of important differences from cancer. First of all, it is worth saying that a benign pancreatic tumor almost does not end in death - this is one of the most important differences.
Now let's move on to a more extended list:
- The body of a benign tumor consists of the same cells as the gland, while the cancer is formed from mutated ones.
- Symptoms of cancer are severe pain, indigestion, and dyspepsia. A benign tumor is rarely expressed by any symptoms.
- Pancreatic cancer often shows signs of poisoning: nausea, vomiting, weight loss, etc. With a benign neoplasm, they are absent.
- A benign tumor grows much slower than a cancerous tumor or does not develop at all.
- Cancer spreads to neighboring tissues and organs, and a benign tumor remains only on the already affected organ.
Causes of benign pancreatic tumor
Almost all mild diseases have causes, for example, having the flu, you can confidently say that you have caught the virus, but the gland tumor here is very different. Doctors did not establish any exact reasons for the appearance of neoplasms, however, they identified a certain risk group. It includes:
- Smokers who abuse alcohol, as well as drug addicts.
- People with chronic pancreatitis and prolonged inflammation in the gastroduodenal zone.
- People whose relatives had similar illnesses.
- Working with chemicals and radiation.
One of the reasons can also be unhealthy diet:
- Wrong food intake.
- Frequent hunger or overeating.
- Excessive intake of fatty, spicy and salty.
- Lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet.
Classification of benign pancreatic tumors
When diagnosing this disease, it is important to correctly determine its classification. Typically, neoplasms are classified by location in the organ, histological structure, as well as by the type of tissue that the neoplasm consists of.
The main attention is paid to the tissue material of different tumors, the source cells of which can be:
- Fat deposits, causing lipomas, which are often called wen in everyday life.
- Fibrocytes - connective tissue cells cause fibromas.
- Neuromas and gangliomas form from nerve cells.
- Hemangiomas and lymphagiomas can form from vascular cells.
- The material for adenomas and insulomas are cells producing and glandular hormones.
- Tumors can also form from the epithelial coating of the excretory ducts.
Next, we will consider benign pancreatic tumors (according to ICD-10 - D13.6 and D13.7), which are the most common:
- Inslunomas.
- Gastrinomas
- Glucagonomas.
Each type of pancreatic neoplasm, presented in the list, has its own symptoms and manifestations, effects on the human body, as well as its own treatment methodology, so we will consider all three cases separately.
General symptoms
Despite the fact that all of the above types of tumors are radically different, they all have common signs, for example, none of them cause any deviations in the functioning of the body at the beginning of its development.
If the disease was not detected in the fetus, then, reaching 5 cm in diameter, it can manifest itself with certain symptoms. A benign tumor of the pancreas will declare itself in this way:
- Dull, persistent pain in the abdomen.
- Diarrhea and constipation.
- Decreased or increased appetite.
All three diseases are hormone-active, therefore, hormone imbalance can be identified as one of the common symptoms, but in practice this can only be noticed by the results of analyzes.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the symptoms of a benign tumor of the head of the pancreas. First of all, these are all manifestations of duodenal compression:
- Nausea.
- Heaviness and bloating.
- Rumbling stomach.
- Pain in the navel.
- Vomiting
- Decreased appetite.
Obstructive jaundice is also a sign of a tumor in the head of the pancreas, however, its manifestation is extremely rare. Jaundice appears as a result of compression of the terminal part of the bile duct under the influence of neoplasms in the body of the pancreas.
Benign pancreatic insuloma
Benign insuloma is an adenoma (neoplasm) of the islets of Langerhans, which are responsible for the production of insulin in the human body. Most often, doctors find this type of tumor in the pancreas.
Due to the appearance of a tumor, the work of the islet glands is disrupted, resulting in hypoglycemia - a decrease in the concentration of glucose in the blood. The following symptoms may indicate this:
- Accelerated heartbeat.
- Sweating.
- Blanching of the skin.
- Dizziness.
- Headache.
- CNS disorders may also occur, such as decreased concentration, sleep disturbance, and anxiety.
With a prolonged decrease in glucose, you may also experience cramps, loss of consciousness, and hyperreflexia.
Diagnosis of insuloma
If the doctor suspects this disease, he will first prescribe a controlled fasting to the patient. During the day, the patient should consume only water, as well as periodically donate blood and urine for analysis. If the sugar level decreases during fasting, the patient’s blood is taken for hormone analysis, where the amount of insulin and other hormones is measured.
Next, the patient goes to CT. A benign pancreatic tumor is also examined using MRI - this gives more information, for example, the doctor will be able to determine the size of the tumor.
The last step is laparoscopy, which determines a benign or malignant type of tumor.
Insuloma treatment
With laparoscopy, the possibility of performing a tumor removal operation is also determined. If it is possible, then one of the methods is selected:
- Resection - removal of insuloma along with part of the pancreas. This method causes irreparable damage to the body, but often you can not do without it, because the affected cells of the gland can cause complications.
- Enucleation is the simplest operation, involving the removal of only the tumor. It is relevant only for tumors identified at an early stage and located on the surface of the damaged organ.
- Pancododual resection is the most radical method. It is used when a tumor damages the gland itself, as well as the duodenum. As a result of the operation, the tumor itself, as well as small areas of affected organs, will be removed.
Next, the patient goes to a rehabilitation course, where he controls the level of sugar, hormones, and also checks for complications, such as peritonitis, abscess, or pancreatitis. If there are none, the patient is discharged. In the future, he needs to follow the prescribed diet.
In practice, doctors also have cases of inoperable insomnia. In this case, the patient is treated with hypoglycemia, and not its cause.
Pancreatic gastrinoma
Gastrinoma is a dangerous neoplasm requiring immediate medical attention. The danger of the disease lies in the hypersecretion of hydrochloric acid, which it causes. Peptic ulcers appear in the digestive organs due to an excess of acids. The disease proceeds in an aggressive form, and is also often completely refractory to treatment.
In this article we are talking about benign gastrinoma, however, it is the malignant variant of this neoplasm that is more often found in medical practice. Cancer grows slowly, but spreads very quickly to other organs - metastasizes.
Symptoms and manifestations of a benign pancreatic tumor, namely gastrinoma, can be as follows:
- Pain in the stomach, often caused by ulcers.
- Diarrhea.
- Steatorrhea - an excess of fat in feces.
- With long neglect of the disease, perforation, bleeding and stenosis caused by large ulcers can also occur.
Gastrinoma Diagnosis
Suspecting the presence of gastrinoma in a patient, the doctor will first conduct a pancreatic palpation. If it is enlarged, doctors determine the location of the tumor: conduct computed tomography, PET or selective angiography.
Further, endoscopic ultrasound may be required to accurately determine the location of the tumor. Blood sampling can also be performed to check the level of gastrin in the blood.
Benign gastrinoma treatment
The treatment of a benign pancreatic tumor is carried out by one method, however, it includes three stages:
- Doctors stabilize the level of stomach acid in the human body with special drugs that are taken not only before the tumor is removed, but also after.
- Direct removal of the tumor by resection - incision of the tumor with part of the pancreas.
- If the patient was managed to be cured by surgery, he undergoes a medical recovery course and follows a diet.
Benign glucagonoma
This type of tumor is similar to the insuloma we analyzed above. Glucagonoma also develops from the islets of Langerhans, but leads to an increase in blood sugar.
The first symptoms that occur with the disease:
- Signs of dermatitis.
- Anemia.
- The development of diabetes.
- Losing weight.
Among the rare symptoms, diarrhea, thrombosis and embolism can also be distinguished.
Diagnosis of glucagon
If you have the above symptoms, your doctor will prescribe a blood test that will measure your glucagon and insulin levels. If the level of glucagon in blood serum exceeds 500 pg / ml, then the doctor makes a diagnosis of glucagon.
Next, determine the location of the neoplasm. The doctor prescribes CT, MRI and ultrasound, which will also allow to determine the size of the tumor. To determine the benignity of the tumor, these studies are conducted with neighboring organs to make sure that there is no metastasis of the tumor.
Benign glucagonoma treatment
The whole process of glucagonoma treatment is divided into several stages:
- Patient preparation At this stage, the patient is prescribed a special diet to normalize the level of sugar in his blood. A blood and amino acid transfusion is also performed. This stage may be the only one if the tumor is not operable, however, in this case, doctors will struggle with all other symptoms of a benign pancreatic tumor, for example, dermatitis.
- Operation. If the tumor can be removed or reduced in size, doctors perform a resection. If, when removing the insuloma, in some cases it was possible to do without circumcision of the pancreas, then you can not do without it.
- After the operation, the patient is observed by the attending physician, who prescribes a diet for him and selects a new course of drugs to normalize sugar. Treatment for other manifestations of glucagonoma is also nearing completion.
Forecasts
In this article, it was specifically about benign tumors, therefore, operations in most cases end with success, and the patient lives after recovery for a long time.
Despite this, only a doctor can make a prediction about the success of treating a benign pancreatic tumor, because to compile good statistics, you need a lot of practice, which is absent, because the disease is extremely rare.
Conclusion
Now you know about the symptoms, types and methods of treating benign neoplasms that have arisen in the pancreas. Do not worry ahead of time if you encounter similar symptoms, because they can talk about many other diseases. Also, we strongly do not recommend treating a benign pancreatic tumor with folk remedies, because this can aggravate your situation. Remember that to delay time with such serious illnesses means to shorten your life time.