Peptides in Oncology II

Controlled and predictable interference with hormonal feed back mechanisms has become a major direction of preclinical and clinical research. There is a steadily increasing number of hormonal pep tides detected and characterized that are re sponsible for endo-, para-, and autocrine cellular actions. Naturally, these peptides have been studied with regard to their cell growth stimulatory action and, in parallel, the re spective antagonists are being investigated in terms of their antiproliferative (antineoplastic) function. Among the numerous pep tides of interest in this respect, somatostatin (somatotropin release inhibitory factor) and bombesin antagonizing factors have been the topic of inten sive research during recent years. No presentation of the role of pep tides in oncology would be complete without a compre hensive treatise of their physiological, preclinical and clinical functions in the context of their antineoplastic mechanism of action. Somatostatin and its various short- and long-acting analogs have the unique feature of suppressing and inhibiting a wide range of cellular processes including cell proliferation. Recep tors for these peptides, which belong in a wider sense to the family of neuropeptides or neurotransmitters, are widely dis tributed, a feature which is not in keeping with the general view of a growth hormone regulatory system. Thus, these substances are found in the gut in a variety of endocrine and exocrine glands including breast, pancreas, and prostate, and in the nervous system.

Klappentext

Controlled and predictable interference with hormonal feed­ back mechanisms has become a major direction of preclinical and clinical research. There is a steadily increasing number of hormonal pep tides detected and characterized that are re­ sponsible for endo-, para-, and autocrine cellular actions. Naturally, these peptides have been studied with regard to their cell growth stimulatory action and, in parallel, the re­ spective antagonists are being investigated in terms of their antiproliferative (antineoplastic) function. Among the numerous pep tides of interest in this respect, somatostatin (somatotropin release inhibitory factor) and bombesin antagonizing factors have been the topic of inten­ sive research during recent years. No presentation of the role of pep tides in oncology would be complete without a compre­ hensive treatise of their physiological, preclinical and clinical functions in the context of their antineoplastic mechanism of action. Somatostatin and its various short- and long-acting analogs have the unique feature of suppressing and inhibiting a wide range of cellular processes including cell proliferation. Recep­ tors for these peptides, which belong in a wider sense to the family of neuropeptides or neurotransmitters, are widely dis­ tributed, a feature which is not in keeping with the general view of a growth hormone regulatory system. Thus, these substances are found in the gut in a variety of endocrine and exocrine glands including breast, pancreas, and prostate, and in the nervous system.

Inhalt
Somatostatin Analogues.- Somatostatin Analogues: Mechanisms of Action.- Somatostatin Analogues in Pituitary Adenomas.- Effects of Sandostatin on Neuroendocrine Tumours of the Gastrointestinal System.- Somatostatin Analogues in the Treatment of Pancreatic Neoplasia.- Somatostatin and Somatostatin Analogues in Human Breast Carcinoma.- Somatostatin Analogues and Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma.- Somatostatin and Neoplastic Pain.- Bombesin Antagonists.- Bombesin Receptor Antagonists: Different Classes and Cellular Basis of Action.- Bombesin Antagonists: Experimental and Clinical Results.