Carcinoid syndrome medical therapy
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Parminder Dhingra, M.D. [2]
Overview
For symptomatic relief of carcinoid sydromes medical therapy many include: octreotide, methysergide maleate, and cyproheptadine.
Medical Therapy
Standard treatments for patients with gastrointestinal (GI) carcinoid tumors include the following:
- Surgery
- Somatostatin analogs
- Interferons
- Treatment of hepatic metastases
- Radionuclides
- Management of carcinoid-related fibrosis
Symptomatic therapy
Symptomatic relief may be provided by any of the following medical therapies:
- Octreotide (somatostatin analogue- neutralizes serotonin and decreases urinary 5-HIAA)
- Methysergide maleate (antiserotonin agent but not used because of serious side effect of retroperitoneal fibrosis)
- Cyproheptadine (antihistamine)
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is of little benefit and is generally not indicated. Octreotide (a somatostatin analogue) may decrease the secretory activity of the carcinoid.