Somatostatin and octreotide: literature review and description of therapeutic activity in pancreatic neoplasia.

The somatostatins represent endogenous substances that serve a diversity of functions in the body. These activities are just beginning to be understood and could have major implications in the treatment of human disease. Their chief pharmacologic activities lie in the modification or modulation of protein hormone synthesis of the gastrointestinal system; a great many other systems may be involved as well. Since the discovery of the therapeutic potentials of naturally isolated somatostatins, attempts have been made to design newer analogs more conducive to practical use. Such an example is long-acting somatostatin analog octreotide. Literature has recently begun to appear describing the therapeutic activities of this and other similar compounds and the first steps to understanding their clinical pharmacology are being taken. Surprising activity has been found in the palliative treatment of a wide variety of formerly resistant gastrointestinal syndromes and endocrine tumors. These activities may have considerable future impact on the treatment of disease involving hormonal imbalance or inappropriate secretion.