[GnRH antagonists and benign prostatic hyperplasia].

Early treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) helps to decrease the need for surgery and thus places the medical treatment at the forefront which implies, optimising its efficacy and tolerance. Alpha-blockers and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors are the two main classes of currently used drugs. The role in the growth of glandular, muscular and fibroblastic tissues of the prostate of androgens, testosterone and especially intraprostatic dihydrotestosterone was properly established.

A clinical overview of carcinoid tumors: perspectives for improvement in treatment using peptide analogs (review).

Carcinoid tumors were first described more than a century ago, but the treatment of patients with advanced disease remains a challenge to physicians. The etiology of carcinoid tumors, the biologic determinants of the growth of these malignancies, as well as the high frequency of multiple carcinoid and/or non-carcinoid tumors in patients with this disease also remain to be elucidated. A 5-decade analysis of 13,715 carcinoid tumors in the USA showed that distant metastases were demonstrated at the time of diagnosis in 12.

New approaches to therapy of cancers of the stomach, colon and pancreas based on peptide analogs.

Cancers of the stomach, colon and exocrine pancreas are major international health problems and result in more than a million deaths worldwide each year. The therapies for these malignancies must be improved. The effects of gastrointestinal (GI) hormonal peptides and endogenous growth factors on these cancers were reviewed.

Response of patients with advanced prostatic cancer to administration of somatostatin analog RC-160 (vapreotide) at the time of relapse.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of administration of the somatostatin analog RC-160 (vapreotide) at the time of relapse in patients with androgen independent prostate cancer.

Methods: Our study included 13 patients with biopsy-proven prostate cancer, stage D3. Eight patients had been treated with a depot formulation of the agonist D-Trp-6-LH-RH, with a median remission time of 68 (range 48-102 months).