title: Treatment of pituitary tumors: somatostatin.
abstract: Somatostatin is an important physiological regulator of neuroendocrine function across multiple biological systems, including the brain and the gastrointestinal tract. In the pituitary gland, somatostatin regulates the secretion of hormones such as growth hormone and thyroid-stimulating hormone in healthy and pathological states. The short half-life of somatostatin makes it unsuitable for clinical use in chronic diseases, which led to the development of long-acting somatostatin analogs for the treatment of acromegaly and thyroid-stimulating hormone-secreting adenomas, which were administered by intermittent injection twice or three times a day. More recently, depot versions have been developed that permit dosing once every month. This review assesses the efficacy of somatostatin analogs in the treatment of pituitary adenomas, including acromegaly, thyroid-stimulating hormone-secreting tumors, non-functioning adenomas, and Cushing's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, C.H.U. de Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tichomirowa
authors.forename: Adrian F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beckers
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000188:drug therapy; D000236:Adenoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D015282:Octreotide / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D047748:Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion / Q000188:drug therapy; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; C060347:lanreotide; D013004:Somatostatin; D015282:Octreotide