Unlabelled somatostatin analogues in treatment of digestive endocrine tumours

Somatostatin analogues are considered first-line therapy in patients with digestive endocrine tumours. Indeed, several studies have investigated their efficacy in the control of specific symptoms and in the decrease of tumour markers. However, randomised controlled trials are needed in order to better define their role in non functioning tumours and their effect on tumour growth, which have seldom been assessed. Several new drugs have been developed over the last few years such as, for example, new long-acting formulations, universal analogues binding to all five somatostatin receptors subtypes, and cytotoxic analogues, all of which offer a promising therapeutic tool in the near future, even if further studies are needed to determine their efficacy and safety in man.