Diarrhea and the rationale to use Sandostatin

This paper reviews the research that has been conducted into the use of Sandostatin to control the debilitating symptoms of diarrhea in a number of different etiologies. These are cancer-related diarrheas, including diarrhea related to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, neuroendocrine tumor carcinoid syndrome, vasoactive intestinal peptide-secreting tumors and also non-cancer related diarrhea, including short bowel syndrome, ileo- and jejunostomy, dumping syndrome, graft versus host disease and AIDS-related diarrhea. There is an increasing recognition of the need to balance the cost of care with patient outcome. It is becoming clear that although the cost of a therapeutic regimen with Sandostatin is substantially greater than the current non-specific therapy, the overall cost is potentially greater without the use of Sandostatin for patients with refractory diarrhea due to the inevitable need for further treatment and/or hospitalization with intravenous fluid supplementation. Initial trials and reports from preclinical testing and clinical practice have shown promising results and, although in the majority of cases they strengthen the view taken in the published consensus guidelines for the use of Sandostatin for refractory diarrhea, further, larger scale, comparative clinical trials are required for any evidence-based definition of dosage and efficacy as a treatment or prophylactic agent to combat and control diarrhea.