Drug Detail

Information about Sandostatin

Generic Name	Octreotide acetate
IND	Octreotide
Brand Name (US)	Sandostatin
Manufacturer	Novartis
Drug Type	octapeptide mimics natural somatostatin
Delivery	Injection
Approval Status	Approved for a non-GIST application
Indications
Overall Strategy	Oncogenic Signal Path Based
Strategy	Block related tumor signal paths
Drug Category	Somatostatin receptor inhibitor

There have been a couple of papers that suggest that the somatostatin receptors are expressed in GIST and thus might be a therapeutic target.
Sandostatin® (octreotide acetate) exerts pharmacologic actions similar to the natural hormone,somatostatin. It is an even more potent inhibitor of growth hormone, glucagon, and insulin than somatostatin. Like somatostatin, it also suppresses LH response to GnRH, decreases splanchnic blood flow, and inhibits release of serotonin, gastrin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, secretin, motilin, and pancreatic polypeptide.
By virtue of these pharmacological actions, Sandostatin has been used to treat the symptoms associated with metastatic carcinoid tumors (flushing and diarrhea), and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) secreting adenomas (watery diarrhea).
Sandostatin substantially reduces growth hormone and/or IGF-I (somatomedin C) levels in patients with acromegaly. Single doses of Sandostatin have been shown to inhibit gallbladder contractility and to decrease bile secretion in normal volunteers. In controlled clinical trials the incidence of gallstone or biliary sludge formation was markedly increased.
Sandostatin suppresses secretion of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).