Carcinoid tumor metastases. Prospective study of twenty-two patients

Twenty-two patients with advanced metastatic carcinoid disease, most of whom were moribund were subjected to oral administration of 200 mg of 5-fluorotryptophan three times daily. Seven patients died from complications of the tumor before completing the course of one year's treatment. Of the fifteen patients who survived long enough to complete the year of therapy, the average additional survival time was 2.3 years, varying from one to over nine years. The average survival time after the diagnosis of advanced metastatic carcinoid disease was made and prior to the initiation of treatment with 5-fluorotryptophan in these patients was 5.5 years, varying from one to eight years. Side effects of the analog were limited to gastric upset in one patient only. The control of serotonin production and its associated symptoms was considered excellent. Slowly progressive tumor growth led ultimately to death in thirteen of the fifteen patients which was considered due to mechanical factors and not to hormone abnormalities. Two patients continue to survive with good quality of life nine and six years, respectively, after analog therapy. Life in patients with advanced metastatic carcinoid disease has been extended with good to excellent quality by the simple oral administration of the tryptophan analog, 5-fluorotryptophan. Tumor growth does not seem to have been affected by the analog.