Review
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 21, 2005; 11(35): 5423-5432
Published online Sep 21, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i35.5423
Treatment of Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome
Paola Tomassetti, Davide Campana, Lydia Piscitelli, Elena Mazzotta, Emilio Brocchi, Raffaele Pezzilli, Roberto Corinaldesi
Paola Tomassetti, Davide Campana, Lydia Piscitelli, Elena Mazzotta, Emilio Brocchi, Raffaele Pezzilli, Roberto Corinaldesi, Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Bologna, Italy
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Professor Paola Tomassetti, Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Bologna, Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Via Massarenti, 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy. paola.tomassetti@unibo.it
Telephone: +39-51-6364186 Fax: +39-51-6364186
Received: January 31, 2005
Revised: March 6, 2005
Accepted: March 9, 2005
Published online: September 21, 2005
Abstract

In this article, we have reviewed the main therapeutic measures for the treatment of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES). Review of the literature was based on computer searches (Pub-Med, Index Medicus) and personal experiences. We have evaluated all the measures now available for treating patients with sporadic gastrinomas or gastrinomas associated with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1, (MEN 1) including medical therapy such as antisecretory drugs and somatostatin analogs (SST), chemotherapy and chemoembolization, and surgical procedures. In ZES patients, the best therapeutic procedure is surgery which, if radical, can be curative. Medical treatment can be the best palliative therapy and should be used, when possible, in association with surgery, in a multimodal therapeutic approach.

Keywords: Gastrinoma, Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome, MEN 1, Proton pump inhibitors, Somatostatin analogs, Chemoembolization