Somatostatinoma

With the discovery of cells containing immunore-active somatostatin in the endocrine pancreas,¹ and their subsequent identification as D cells,² it became predictable that disorders of pancreatic D cell would ultimately surface. Indeed, an apparent increase in D cells within the islets of patients with juvenile-type diabetes has already been described,³ and pancreatic somatostatin is reportedly reduced in ob/ob mice.⁴ In this issue of the Journal, Ganda et al. describe a case of a somatostatin-containing tumor of the endocrine pancreas. Biopsy of a pancreatic mass discovered during a routine cholecystectomy suggested an islet-cell tumor, but subsequent work-up was not compatible.