A comparison of the tumor growth inhibitory effect of intermittent and continuous administration of the somatostatin structural derivative TT-232 in various human tumor models.

The tumor growth inhibitory efficacy of the somatostatin structural derivative TT-232 was studied using different routes of administration and treatment schedules in various human tumor models. TT-232, containing a five-residue ring structure, has a strong antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo. The antineoplastic activity of TT-232 has been found to be associated with the induction of programmed cell death in tumor cells, resulting in highly-selective elimination of the neoplastic tissue. The study compared the antitumor efficacy of TT-232 in various long-term administration routes; the intermittent (injection) versus continuous (infusion) treatment via subcutaneously-inserted Alzet osmotic minipumps in different human tumor models: T-47/D human breast carcinoma and A-431 human epidermoid carcinoma. Treatment with TT-232 started after disease development. The antitumor activity of TT-232 was evaluated on the basis of the tumor growth inhibition. In the case of T-47/D human breast carcinoma, the intermittent treatment resulted in 23%-26% and the infusion treatment resulted in 48%-53% tumor growth inhibition. The tumor growth inhibitory effect of TT-232 on A-431 human epidermoid carcinoma tumor resulted in 35%-43% (intermittent treatment) and 70%-74% (continuous treatment) decreases in tumor volume. This antitumor efficacy of TT-232 was observed in the two human tumors investigated. In this study, the route of infusion was shown to increase drug efficacy relative to conventional delivery methods. The results suggest that TT-232 is an effective and promising antitumor agent.