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 focuses on a benign tumor of the pancreas, which is often treated without serious consequences, but the hidden process of its development can cause many complications.
General Description
A benign tumor of the pancreas is one of the rarest human diseases. Doctors register only a couple of cases per 1 million people, but pathologists have a different statistic: 1 case per 5,000 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 largesizes. We will return to the symptoms in more detail below.
There are several subspecies of this disease, but they are all combined into a group. This group, like many other diseases, has been assigned a statistical code according to ICD 10. In benign tumors of the pancreas, the main code is D13.6, but for islet cell tumors a separate code is allocated - D13.7.
The difference between malignant and benign tumors
Benign neoplasms have a number of important differences from cancerous ones. First of all, it is worth saying that a benign tumor of the pancreas practically 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 cancer is formed from mutated ones.
- Symptoms of cancer are severe pain, indigestion and dyspepsia. A benign tumor rarely presents with any symptoms.
- Pancreatic cancer often shows signs of poisoning: nausea, vomiting, weight loss, etc. They are absent in a benign neoplasm.
- A benign tumor grows much slower than a cancerous one 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 benignpancreatic tumors
Almost all minor illnesses have causes, for example, when you get the flu, you can confidently say that you have caught the virus, but the tumor of the gland is very different here. Doctors have not established any exact causes of the appearance of neoplasms, however, they have identified a certain risk group. Includes:
- Smokers, alcohol abusers and drug addicts.
- People with chronic pancreatitis and long-term inflammation in the gastroduodenal area.
- People whose relatives had similar diseases.
- Working with chemicals and radiation.
One of the reasons can also be malnutrition:
- Wrong eating pattern.
- Frequent hunger or overeating.
- Excessive consumption of fatty, spicy and s alty foods.
- Lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet.
Classification of benign tumors of the pancreas
When diagnosing this disease, it is important to correctly determine its classification. Usually, neoplasms are classified by location in the organ, histological structure, and also by the type of tissue that the neoplasm consists of.
The main attention is paid to the tissue material of various tumors, the initial cells of which can be:
- Fat deposits that cause lipomas, which are often called wen in everyday life.
- Fibrocytes - connective tissue cells cause fibroids.
- Nerve cells form neuromas and gangliomas.
- From vascular cellshemangiomas and lymphagiomas may form.
- Material for adenoma and insuloma are cells producing and glandular hormones.
- Tumours can also form from the epithelial lining of the excretory ducts.
Next, we will consider benign tumors of the pancreas (according to ICD-10 - D13.6 and D13.7), which are the most common:
- Inslunomomas.
- Gastrinomas.
- Glucagonomas.
Each type of pancreatic neoplasm presented in the list has its own symptoms and manifestations, impact on the human body, as well as its own treatment method, so we will consider all three cases separately.
General symptoms
Despite the fact that all of the above types of tumors are fundamentally different, they all have common features, for example, none of them causes any abnormalities in the body at the time of its development.
If the disease was not detected in the embryo, 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, constant pain in the abdomen.
- Diarrhea and constipation.
- Decrease or increase in appetite.
All three diseases are hormonally active, so one of the common symptoms is a hormonal imbalance, but in practice this can only be noticed by the results of the tests.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the symptomsbenign tumor of the head of the pancreas. First of all, these are all manifestations of duodenal compression:
- Nausea.
- Heaviness and bloating.
- Stomach growl.
- Pain in the navel.
- Vomiting.
- Decreased appetite.
Obstructive jaundice is also a sign of a tumor in the head of the pancreas, but this manifestation is extremely rare. Jaundice appears as a result of compression of the terminal bile duct under the influence of a neoplasm 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 occurrence of a tumor, the work of the islets of the gland is disrupted, resulting in hypoglycemia - a decrease in the concentration of glucose in the blood. The following symptoms may indicate this:
- Increased heartbeat.
- Sweating.
- Skin blanching.
- Dizziness.
- Headache.
- CNS disorders may also occur, such as decreased concentration, sleep disturbance and anxiety.
You can also experience seizures, blackouts, and hyperreflexia when your blood glucose drops too long.
Diagnosis of insuloma
If the doctor suspects this disease, heFirst of all, the patient will be prescribed controlled fasting. During the day, the patient should consume only water, and also periodically donate blood and urine for analysis. If the sugar level drops during fasting, the patient's blood is taken for a hormonal analysis, where the amount of insulin and other hormones is measured.
Next, the patient is sent for a CT scan. A benign tumor of the pancreas is also examined using MRI - this gives more information, for example, the doctor can determine the size of the tumor.
The last step is laparoscopy, which determines whether the tumor is benign or malignant.
Insuloma treatment
Laparoscopy also determines the possibility of an operation to remove the tumor. If it is possible, then one of the methods is selected:
- Resection - removal of the insuloma along with part of the pancreas. This method causes irreparable damage to the body, but often you can’t do without it, because the affected gland cells can cause complications.
- Enucleation is the simplest operation, involving the removal of only the tumor. It is relevant only for tumors detected at an early stage and located on the surface of the damaged organ.
- Pancretodual resection is the most radical method. It is used when the tumor damages the gland itself, as well as the duodenum. As a result of the operation, the tumor itself will be removed, as well as small areas of the affected organs.
Then the patient goes to a rehabilitation course, where hemonitor sugar levels, hormone levels, and check for complications such as peritonitis, abscess, or pancreatitis. If there are none, the patient is discharged. In the future, he must follow the prescribed diet.
In the practice of doctors, there are also cases of inoperable insulomas. In this case, the patient is treated for hypoglycemia, not its cause.
Gastrinoma of the pancreas
Gastrinoma is a dangerous neoplasm that requires immediate medical attention. The danger of the disease lies in the hypersecretion of hydrochloric acid that it causes. Due to an excess of acids in the digestive organs, peptic ulcers appear. The disease is aggressive and often completely refractory to treatment.
This article deals with benign gastrinoma, however, in medical practice, it is the malignant variant of this neoplasm that is more common. Cancer grows slowly, but spreads to other organs very quickly - it metastasizes.
Symptoms and manifestations of a benign tumor of the pancreas, namely gastrinoma, may be as follows:
- Pain in the stomach, often caused by ulcers.
- Diarrhea.
- Steatorrhea - an excess of fat in the feces.
- If the disease is ignored for a long time, perforation, bleeding and stenosis caused by large ulcers can also occur.
Gastrinoma Diagnosis
Suspecting the presence of a gastrinoma in a patient, the doctor first of allwill palpate the pancreas. If it is enlarged, doctors determine the location of the tumor: they perform a CT scan, PET scan, or selective angiography.
Further, an endoscopic ultrasound may be required to pinpoint the location of the tumor. Blood may also be taken to check the level of gastrin in the blood.
Treatment of benign gastrinoma
Treatment of a benign tumor of the pancreas is performed by one method, but it includes three stages:
- Doctors stabilize the level of stomach acid in the human body with special drugs that are taken not only before tumor removal, but also after.
- Direct removal of the tumor by resection - cutting the tumor with part of the pancreas.
- If the patient is cured by surgery, he undergoes a medical recovery course and follows a diet.
Benign Clucagonoma
This type of tumor is similar to the insuloma we discussed above. Glucagonoma also develops from the islets of Langerhans, but leads to an increase in blood sugar levels.
First symptoms that occur with the disease:
- Signs of dermatitis.
- Anemia.
- Development of diabetes.
- Slimming.
Rare symptoms also include diarrhea, thrombosis and embolism.
Diagnosis of glucagonoma
If you have any of the above symptoms, your doctor will order a blood test to measureglucagon and insulin. If the serum level of glucagon exceeds 500 pg / ml, then the doctor makes a diagnosis of glucagonoma.
Next, the location of the neoplasm is determined. The doctor prescribes CT, MRI and ultrasound, which will also determine the size of the tumor. To determine the benignity of the tumor, these studies are carried out with neighboring organs to ensure the absence of tumor metastases.
Treatment of benign glucagonoma
The whole process of treating glucagonoma 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. Blood and amino acid transfusions are also performed. This stage may be the only one if the tumor is not operable, but in this case, doctors will fight all other symptoms of a benign pancreatic tumor, such as dermatitis.
- Operation. If the tumor can be removed or reduced in size, doctors perform a resection. If in some cases it was possible to do without circumcision of the pancreas when removing an insuloma, then it is indispensable.
- After the operation, the patient is observed by the attending physician, who prescribes a diet and selects a new course of drugs to normalize sugar. Treatment for other manifestations of glucagonoma is also being completed.
Forecasts
In this article, we were talking specifically about benign tumors, so operations in most cases end in success, and the patient lives afterrecovery for a long time.
Despite this, only a doctor can make a prediction about the success of treating a benign tumor of the pancreas, 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 treatment of benign neoplasms that have arisen in the pancreas. Do not worry ahead of time if you meet similar symptoms, because they can talk about many other diseases. Also, we strongly do not recommend treating a benign tumor of the pancreas with folk remedies, because this can aggravate your situation. Remember that to play for time with such serious diseases is to shorten the time of your life.
