METABOLIC REMISSION WITH OCTREOTIDE IN PATIENTS WITH INSULINOMA

Objectives, The efficacy of octreotide was studied in a group of patie nts with biochemical evidence of insulinoma. Design. A phase-II study. Setting. A university department of internal medicine. Subjects. Seve n patients with biochemical evidence of insulinoma and without metasta tic lesions. Intervention. Daily treatment with octreotide, a somatost atin analogue, mainly within the dosage of 100-300 mu g day(-1). The t reatment was continued in patients with biochemical evidence of respon se or until surgery was undertaken. Main outcome. Five patients avoide d hypoglycaemic symptoms and had normalization of blood glucose values for a median of 15+ months (range 0.2-54 months). Two did not improve metabolically. The treatment was well tolerated and had no deleteriou s effects on blood glucose regulation. Conclusion. Octreotide seems to be a promising treatment for many of the patients with insulinoma who are not suitable for surgery.