title: Outcomes of first-line long-acting octreotide treatment in non-functional, advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Benefits of somatostatin analogues have been mostly studied in mixed samples of patients including both functional and non-functional neuroendocrine tumors. This study aimed to examine the response of patients with non-functional metastatic or inoperable gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) that received first-line treatment with the somatostatin analogue octreotide LAR.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of 23 patients with locally inoperable or metastatic non-functional neuroendocrine tumors who received octreotide LAR (long acting release) treatment were retrospectively reviewed for clinical data and disease course. All patients had received first-line octreotide LAR 30 mg for 4 weeks. Progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were the primary and secondary endpoints, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients were followed for a median of 47 months. Mean PFS and OS were 25.0 ± 3.4 months (95% CI: 18.4-31.5) and 71.3 ± 9.5 months (95% CI: 52.7-89.9), respectively, with an estimated 5-year OS of 58%. Patients with ≤ 25% of hepatic tumor load had better PFS when compared to patients with >25% hepatic tumor load (32.2 ± 6.2 vs 19.4 ± 2.7 months, p=0.043). During treatment, the following adverse events developed: skin reaction (N=1, 4.3%), cholestasis (N=1, 4.3%), grade 1 diarrhea (N=1, 4.3%), and newly onset diabetes (N=3; 13.0%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Octreotide LAR seems to be an effective treatment option with acceptable tolerability for patients with well-differentiated non-functional GEP-NETs. Survival benefits warrant further testing in future large-scale prospective trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Istanbul Bilim University Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sezer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saglam
authors.forename: Hulya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hacisahinogullari
authors.forename: Nakiye
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozturk
authors.forename: Yersu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kapran
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gulluoglu
authors.forename: Cuneyt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Turkmen
authors.forename: Isik
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Adalet
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orhan Bilge
authors.forename: Numan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cem Balci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D015282:Octreotide / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality
chemical_list: D015282:Octreotide