title: [Somatostatin analogues for the treatment of gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours].
abstract: Somatostatin has represented a significant breakthrough in the treatment of patients with hormone-acting, neuroendocrine gastro-intestinal-pancreatic (NEGEP) neoplasms, even if its short half-life made it impractical in the clinical practice. Over the last recent years new long-acting formulations have been developed from the native peptide. Octreotide, lanreotide and vapeotide are octapeptides with similar biological activity, remarkable stability and longer half-life; an extended-release formulation of octreotide (Octreotide-LAR) and lanreotide (Lanreotide-SR) have been more recently developed by incorporating the peptide in microspheres of a biodegradable polymer. This formulation was conceived to provide patients with the convenience of a once-a-month or twice-a-month injection and to ensure a stable serum concentration between injections and good clinical control of NEGEP tumours symptoms. Nowadays, somatostatin long-acting analogues represent the first treatment option in those patients who doesn't underwent radical surgery; in addition, these substances present no important side effects, ameliorate the prognosis and can exert some degree of tumour growth control.
authors.affiliation: III Divisione, Medicina Interna, Azienda Ospedaliera di Rilievo Nazionale, A. Cardarelli, Naples, Italy. uomogir@liberto.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Uomo
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Germano
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Rabitti
mesh_terms: D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D013004:Somatostatin
vernacular_title: Ruolo degli analoghi della somatostatina nel trattamento dei tumori neuroendocrini gastroenteropancreatici.