Effect of somatostatin in necrolytic migratory erythema of glucagonoma.

A 63-year-old woman with necrolytic migratory erythema associated with a glucagonoma in the pancreas is described. The diagnosis was suggested on the basis of a characteristic lesion in skin biopsy. Infusion of somatostatin (25 micrograms/h) for 48 hours was followed by a rapid and almost complete healing of the skin eruptions. Serum glucagon was depressed during infusion. No significant changes in plasma glucose were detected. As the patient experienced a cramp-like sensation after cessation of somatostatin infusion, a tail-off period in the infusion program is advocated. The pathogenesis of necrolytic erythema in glucagonoma is discussed.