HORMONAL-THERAPY OF PANCREATIC-CARCINOMA - RATIONALE AND PERSPECTIVES

Exocrine pancreas carcinoma is still diagnosed at a relatively late st age, so that only a few cases can be cured by surgery. Therefore, it i s desirable that an effective medical therapy be found first to stall the development of the disease and second to improve the life conditio ns of patients. On the basis of recent discoveries, a new therapeutic approach seems to derive from hormone manipulation. The growth of panc reatic carcinoma appears to be stimulated by various factors, such as Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) , and by various hormones, such as androgens and cholecystokinin. Seve ral studies performed on cell lines and on animal models of pancreatic carcinoma demonstrated an antitumoral effect of certain antihormones and of somatostatin. Taking such studies as a premise, the first clini cal studies were finally started in patients suffering from nonoperabl e pancreatic cancer. Results are still partial and contradictory, but such research is certainly worthy of further study along the lines alr eady taken.