Established clinical use of octreotide and lanreotide in oncology

The diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors have been significantl y improved during the last decades. Localization and staging of the disease by somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (Octreoscan) are now the 'gold stand ard' for the management of these tumors. Treatment with somatostatin analog s has improved quality of life and possibly also survival for patients with neuroendocrine tumors. New long-acting formulations of the somatostatin an alogs are as effective as the old regular formulations but will further imp rove quality of life for the patients. Tumor-targeted therapy with In-111 a nd V-90 coupled to somatostatin analogs show promising results but await fu rther studies. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.