Favorable response to surufatinib in a patient with necrolytic migratory erythema: A case report

Necrolytic migratory erythema (NME) is usually associated with paraneoplastic syndrome caused by functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET). Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of NET-related NME is challenging due to its rarity and lack of typical clinical symptoms and specific pathological manifestations. Here we report a rare case of PNET with NME as the initial manifestation. 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/MR was used to detect the primary pancreatic and metastatic liver tumors. Finally, the patient was diagnosed as PNET via liver biopsy. After four cycles of standard capecitabine plus temozolomide chemotherapy combined with long-acting octreotide, the patient’s skin lesions on both lower extremities improved only slightly, while tumors remained stable and unchanged in size. Then the patient was treated with surufatinib. Two months later, the skin lesions healed completely, and tumors responded significantly. This rare case suggests that surufatinib may be a promising therapy for patients with PNET-associated NME.