Advances in diagnosis and management of canine insulinoma: a review

Abstract

Insulinomas are the most common pancreatic tumours in dogs. Diagnosis of insulinoma requires the concurrent presence of hypoglycaemia and serum insulin levels within or above the upper limit of the reference range. The diagnostic imaging modality of choice is triple-phase contrast enhanced tomography. Surgical resection is generally the most effective treatment option, leading to prolonged survival; however, medical management becomes necessary for many dogs at some point. After surgery, dogs can live for a few years without clinical signs of hypoglycaemia, but eventually clinical hypoglycaemia frequently recurs due to the outgrowth of micrometastases that were undetected at the time of surgery. This review consolidates and provides updated recommendations from the veterinary literature on the diagnosis and management of canine insulinomas.