Potential indications for somatostatin analogs in Cushing's syndrome.

In recent years, somatostatin analogs have been proposed and used in the diagnosis and therapy in Cushing's syndrome (CS). In these last few years, the potential therapeutic effects of somatostain analogs have been studied in different aspects of CS. The strong expression of somatostatin receptors (SSTR) type 5 in human corticotroph cells and the demonstrated efficacy of SOM230, a novel multi-ligand somatostatin analog, in inhibiting ACTH release in vitro suggest that this new drug may be effective in the treatment of ACTH hypersecretion. Very preliminary in vivo results suggest that SOM230 could be a promising drug in medical therapy for patients with Cushing's disease (CD). Prolonged treatment and more data will be needed in order to evaluate its long-term therapeutic efficacy.