Hormonal control of pancreatic cancer growth.

The effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and somatostatin-14 (SS) on growth of Mia PaCa-2 cells in cell culture were examined. EGF had no effect on cell growth in sera containing media but significantly increased growth in sera-free media. The effect of EGF was complete within 18 h. SS added with EGF entirely eliminated the growth stimulation of EGF. SS added to cells in culture with sera inhibited their growth as well.