Living with Hypoglycemia due to Insulinomas or related Tumors

Understanding a Rare and Serious Condition — and the Treatment Options Available

Severe low blood sugar caused by a tumor is a rare but serious condition that can affect daily life and long-term health. Many patients and families spend months—or longer—searching for answers.

This page is here to help you:

  • Understand tumor-related hypoglycemia

  • Recognize symptoms and risks

  • Learn about available investigational treatment options

  • Find out how to access care through research and expanded access programs

What is Tumor-Related Hypoglycemia?

In rare cases, certain tumors can cause the body’s blood sugar to drop dangerously low. This happens because the tumor releases substances, like insulin or an insulin-like protein, that affect how the body controls glucose or blood sugar.

This condition may be called by other names, such as:

  • Tumor-induced hypoglycemia

  • Non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia (NICTH)

  • IGF-2 related hypoglycemia

  • Rare paraneoplastic hypoglycemia

  • Doege-Potter syndrome

Because it is uncommon, diagnosis and treatment can be challenging. When this happens it may be difficult to continue to receive cancer care.

Treatment focuses on:

  • Managing blood sugar with frequent eating or IV glucose

  • Medications to raise glucose levels

  • Treating or removing the tumor when possible

However, many patients continue to experience dangerous low blood sugar despite available therapies.

Current Treatment Approaches

Repeated or severe hypoglycemia can lead to:

  • Confusion, dizziness, and fainting

  • Seizures or loss of consciousness

  • Risk of injury or hospitalization

  • Reduced quality of life

Standard treatments do not always control symptoms well, and options may be limited.

Why is this Condition Serious?

You Are Not Alone

Living with rare hypoglycemia due to a tumor can feel overwhelming. Support, information, and new treatment options are emerging.

Our goal is to help patients and physicians understand this rare condition, explore appropriate treatment pathways and find access to investigational therapies when needed.

New Treatment Options are Being Studied

Rezolute is a late-stage rare disease company focused on the development of an investigational medicine, called a monoclonal antibody, designed to address the hypoglycemia caused by a tumor.

The investigational drug is called Ersodetug (er-SŌ-duh-tug) and it is given intravenously (small tube placed into a vein) for approximately 30 minutes every 1-4 weeks.

You may be eligible for treatment with ersodetug if you:

Have been diagnosed with hypoglycemia due to a tumor by your doctor,

Have frequent hypoglycemia that is not responding to available treatment,

Requiring intravenous glucose or nutrition,

Over the age of 18,

Willing to complete an evaluation involving medical tests and assessments. Most of the tests in this program are similar to routine medical care you may already receive from your doctor.

Several options are available through the upLIFT program:

Phase 3 Clinical Trial Program

By joining a clinical trial, patients may:

  • Receive close medical monitoring

  • Gain access to an investigational therapy at no cost

  • Help advance research for this rare condition

  • Provides travel support

Participation is voluntary, and eligibility criteria apply.

Expanded Access Program (EAP)

For patients who may not qualify for the clinical trial or cannot wait for trial enrollment, an Expanded Access Program may be available:

Expanded Access:

  • Provides investigational treatment outside of a clinical trial when access to a clinical trial site is not feasible

  • Requires approval from a treating physician and regulatory authorities

  • Provides travel support

The Expanded Access program may offer another pathway to treatment when options are limited.

Take the Next Step

If you or someone you care for has hypoglycemia due to a tumor, you may be eligible to learn more about the Phase 3 clinical trial or the Expanded Access Program.

Talk with your doctor or contact our program team to see which option may be right for you.