title: Use of somatostatin analog SMS 201-995 in medullary thyroid carcinoma.
abstract: We have studied seven subjects with medullary thyroid carcinoma. Each had elevated basal serum calcitonin (CT) levels following total thyroidectomy. After subcutaneous administration of 100 micrograms of SMS 201-995, blood samples were collected at 60-minute intervals for six hours. Two patients showed a marked decrease of CT levels (patient A: baseline 565 pg/mL, nadir 150 pg/mL; patient B: baseline 1,632 pg/mL, nadir 416 pg/mL). The other five patients showed no significant change in comparison with saline infusion. Two patients were treated with SMS 201-995 (300 micrograms/day) for 90 days. One of these patients responded to the acute SMS 201-995 test and had CT levels persistently 50% lower than pretreatment values during this 90-day period. The other patient, whose CT levels did not decrease during the acute test, had persistently high values during this 90-day period but had relief of watery diarrhea even after the therapeutic trial was discontinued.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Libroia
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Verga
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Sacco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piolini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muratori
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009377:Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D015282:Octreotide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012008:Recurrence; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D013965:Thyroidectomy
chemical_list: D002116:Calcitonin; D015282:Octreotide