Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia Secondary to Multiple β cell Adenomas in a Boxer Bitch

Background: The most frequent pancreatic tumours are derived from insulin-secreting β cells, commonly called insulinomas; these are characterised by high insulin secretion causing hypoglycaemia and clinical signs such as seizures, tremors, weakness, and polyphagia, among others. In dogs, this tumour represents 30 is indicative of insulinoma. Unfortunately, the specificity of the amended insulin:glucose ratio is poor. In the past, there has been confusion with respect to their biological nature, because, based on histological and electron microscopic evaluations, 60% of these neoplasms are carcinomas and 40% are adenomas. Nevertheless, these claims were not substantiated and most insulinomas are currently considered to be malignant (carcinomas). The objective of this paper was to present a rare case of a Boxer dog that had three β cell tumours of the pancreas, which produced hyperinsulinemia and hypoglycemia. Although this is not a malignant tumour, we demonstrated, as described in the literature, that regardless of the histopathological classification, insulin-producing tumours have a poor prognosis in dogs.