Provides state-of-the-art coverage of somatostatin analogue use in diagnostics and therapy

Studies have shown that somatostatin analogues may inhibit growth of many tumors in vivo in animal studies, which include pituitary tumors, endocrine pancreatic tumors and small cell lung cancers. Somatostatin is a 14-amino-acid peptide hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Analogues here refer to compounds that have similar physical, chemical, biochemical, or pharmacological properties. The human somatostatin has a very short half-life in circulation (2-3 minutes) and is easily broken down by endogenous peptidases. Therefore, specific somatostatin analogues have been developed that block hormone release.

Featuring chapters from specialists in endocrinology, physiology, pathology, and nuclear medicine, Somatostatin Analogues: From Research to Clinical Practice provides comprehensive overview of somatostatin and its analogues, from their history to future perspectives. Divided into four sections, the book:

• Presents the history of somatostatin discovery, the physiology of endogenous somatostatin family, its actions, receptors and receptors distribution in normal tissues as well as in malignancies and other pathologies
• Discusses diagnostic applications of radiolabeled somatostatin analogues, which includes giving detailed characteristics of available radiopharamaceuticals for both SPECT and PET, and focuses on the clinical entities in which such diagnostic modality is indicated

• Describes somatostatin analogues use in radioisotope therapy, such as: radiopharmaceuticals and isotopes for therapeutic purposes, dosimetry, dual-isotope therapy
• Covers the preclinical and research issues: novel somatostatin receptor agonists, pansomatostatins, somatostatin receptor antagonist, dopastatins and coritstatins