VIPoma

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Pancreas

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

VIPoma

Alternative Names:

Vasoactive intestinal peptide-producing tumor; Pancreatic endocrine tumor

Treatment:

The first goal of treatment is to correct dehydration. Intravenous (IV) fluids are often required to replace fluids lost in diarrhea.

The next goal is to slow the diarrhea. Some medications can help control the diarrhea, such as octreotide, which is a hormone.

The best chance for cure is surgery to remove the tumor. If the tumor has not metastasized (spread to other organs), surgery can often cure it.

Expectations (prognosis):

Surgery can usually cure VIPomas, but about one-third to one-half of patients will have tumors that have spread by the time of diagnosis and are thus incurable.

Complications:

Metastasis
Dehydration
Cardiac arrest from electrolyte imbalances

Calling your health care provider:

If you have watery diarrhea for more than 2-3 days, you should call your doctor.

Review Date: 8/4/2004
Reviewed By: Stephen Grund, M.D. Ph.D., Chief of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the George Bray Cancer Center at New Britain General Hospital, New Britain, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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