Acid secretion and serum gastrin levels in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Thirteen cases of patients with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome were reviewed. In two cases the diagnosis was made by incidental biopsy of small liver nodules at operation for peptic ulcer disease. Seven patients had gastric secretory tests which showed a basal acid output to maximum acid output ratio of more than 65 percent. Five patients had bao:mao ratios less than 50 percent.A 30-month interval between incidental discovery of tumor and clinically evident disease was observed in two patients. Recurrence of symptoms after excision of tumor was noted after a similar interval in another case. Serum gastrin levels, before total gastrectomy, were elevated in all cases. The lowest preoperative level in this series of patients was 550 picograms per ml (normal 100 to 150 picograms). They were diagnostic in two patients with normal gastric secretory studies. The levels fell to normal following total gastrectomy in six patients. Two patients still had elevated levels five years and 14 years after total gastrectomy. One was discovered to have a parathyroid adenoma with hypercalcemia. Total gastrectomy was curative in all the patients with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome; lesser operations were not.