Somatostatin analog-induced remission of necrolytic migratory erythema without changes in plasma glucagon concentration

A 41-year-old woman with metastatic glucagonoma and the characteristic disabling rash, necrolytic migratory erythema, was treated with a synthetic somatostatin analog while waiting to undergo curative surgical resection. Plasma glucagon concentration (1,500-3,300 pg/ml, normal less than 200) remained elevated during analog therapy as the rash cleared. Only with surgical resection (partial pancreatectomy and partial hepatectomy) did glucagon levels return to normal. The therapeutic benefit caused by the analog in this syndrome differs from that in other endocrine tumor syndromes such as pancreatic cholera, carcinoid, or gastrinoma where circulating levels of tumor-produced agents are suppressed in conjunction with control of symptoms.