The role of somatostatin analogues in complete antiandrogen treatment in patients with prostatic carcinoma

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Octreotide and Somatostatin, published as a clinical trial, phase ii.

Somatostatin analogues (SMS-A) have been found to inhibit the growth of experimental tumors, as of prostate cancer, via several mechanisms as antihormonal and direct antimitogenic actions.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 14 patients taking part.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults, older adults and people over 80, men only.

In a phase II clinical trial the researchers administered, in addition to CAB, SMS-A octreotide in 14 patients with stage D2 (group B) prostate cancer-8 previously hormonally treated (PHT) and 6 without any previous hormone treatment (NPHT); 4 other patients, 3 NPHT and one PHT, were treated with CAB only (group A).

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized and parallel-group study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Octreotide and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Groups ran in parallel: each of the patients stayed in one arm throughout.

Somatostatin activity was evaluated assaying Insulin like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF).

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Acid Phosphatase, Androgen Antagonists, Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal, Carcinoma, Epidermal Growth Factor, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I and Octreotide.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and parallel-group study of Octreotide and Somatostatin in 14 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.

The publication is from 1997 (Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR), a journal based in England.

More context: the Octreotide compound page and the Somatostatin compound page, all human trials.