Insulinoma in the Elderly: A Report of Three Cases and Review Literature

Insulinoma are rare pancreatic islet cell tumors with fasting hypoglycemia due to excessive insulin secretion as the main clinical expression. The treatment of choice is surgery. In the elderly, diagnosis and treatment can be challenging. The elevated perioperative risks in this population often lead to forsake the option of surgery. Nutritional approaches and medical treatment are then often preferred. However they are not always sufficient in controlling the symptoms of hypoglycemia. In these patients other treatment options such as radiofrequency ablation and embolization are considered, although only limited data are available on the use of these strategies in this specific indication and population. We report three cases of insulinoma in elderly patients for which different treatment options were explored.