Unusual presentation of a pancreatic insulinoma in helical CT and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging: case report

Abstract

Insulinomas are pancreatic neoplasms that can be radiologically characterized typically because of their tendency to present intense and early contrast enhancement with a wash-out phenomenon. In this sense, we report an unusual case of a hypovascular solid pancreatic insulinoma confirmed with surgery and pathologic analysis, in a patient with normal serum insulin levels. In the two-phase helical CT, the mass behaved as a hypodense lesion with respect to the surrounding pancreatic parenchyma during the arterial phase and as a hypointense lesion during the dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging. Pathologic examination demonstrated a hypercellular tumor with poor vascularization of intervening stroma which showed prominent amyloid deposits.