A pancreatic islet cell tumor is a tumor that develops in the pancreas from a type of cell called an islet cell. These cells manufacture and release hormones, such as insulin and glucagon, into the bloodstream. An islet cell tumor can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous)
Depending on the type of islet cell tumor, an overproduction of certain hormones can result.
An islet cell tumor is rare, but it can cause a variety of symptoms depending on the type of hormone that it produces. If the tumor is malignant and spreads to other parts of the body, the cancer can become very serious.
Other names for a pancreatic islet cell tumor are:
islet of Langerhans tumor
pancreatic endocrine tumor
The incidence of pituitary tumors is increased in multiple endocrine adenomatosis or neoplasia (MEA or MEN) (especially type I: autosomal dominant inheritance with high penetrance, also involves pancreatic islet cell tumors (which may produce gastrin and hence Zollinger-Ellison syndrome) and parathyroids (hyperparathyroidism), and in which the pituitary tumors are usually nonsecretory).