This week's artwork was donated by Lonny, a pediatric cancer patient who received treatment at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia . The majority of islet cell cancers are nonfunctional and produce symptoms from tumor bulk or metastatic dissemination. The frequent long delays between initial symptoms and diagnosis and the varied effects of the polypeptides secreted often necessitate involvement of multiple surgical and medical subspecialties.
Surgery is the only curative modality.
Combination chemotherapy may provide effective palliation as well as increased survival in selected patients. In patients with indolent, slow-growing metastatic islet cell carcinoma, the best therapy may be careful observation and no treatment until palliation is required. With the exception of pain relief from bone metastases, radiation therapy has a limited role in this disease. Nonfunctioning islet cell tumors. Management of unresectable malignant endocrine tumors of the pancreas.