Long-acting somatostatin analogues are an effective treatment for type 1 gastric carcinoid tumours.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Octreotide in this clinical trial publication.

The researchers conducted a multicentre prospective study to assess the effects of long-acting SSA on hypergastrinaemia and ECL-cell proliferation in patients with GCA1.

Why It Was Studied

Gastric carcinoid tumours type 1 (GCA1) originate from hyperplastic enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells secondary to hypergastrinaemia.

Treatment with somatostatin analogues (SSA) might impede ECL-cell hyperplasia by suppressing gastrin secretion and/or by a direct anti-proliferative effect on ECL cells.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 15 patients taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults, both men and women.

Patients had serum gastrin and chromogranin A measurements performed and biopsies taken from both tumours and surrounding mucosa before, and every 6-12 months following treatment.

The cell proliferation index Ki-67, intensity of staining before and after treatment and the degree of gastric wall invasion were also assessed.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a multicenter study.

Running at several centres spread the Octreotide study over different clinics and patient groups.

Sections were immunostained for neuroendocrine markers.

What Was Measured

Gastric carcinoid tumours type 1 (GCA1) originate from hyperplastic enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells secondary to hypergastrinaemia.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal, Carcinoid Tumor, Enterochromaffin Cells, Octreotide and Stomach Neoplasms.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a multicenter study of Octreotide in 15 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 5 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2008 (European journal of endocrinology), a journal based in England.

More context: the related Octreotide library page, all human trials.