Somatostatin Therapy for Glomus Tumors: A Report of Two Cases

ABSTRACT

Glomus tumors of the head and neck are benign vascular lesions that often provide dilemmas in management. The presence of somatostatin receptors on the tumor cell surface has facilitated an additional imaging technique in the form of radiolabeled octreotide scanning. The use of the somatostatin analogue, octreotide, also provides a therapeutic option for inoperable or recurrent tumors. We present two patients, one with a surgically inaccessible tumor that recurred after primary radiotherapy and one who underwent incomplete resection because of the tumor's proximity to the internal carotid artery. Neither tumor has shown further growth 5 and 3 years after treatment with octreotide, respectively.

KEYWORDS

Glomus tumors - somatostatin receptor scintigraphy - octreotide

REFERENCES

• 1 Gulya A J. The glomus tumour and its biology.  Laryngoscope . 1993;  103(suppl) 7-15
• 2 Manolidis P, Shohet J A, Jackson C G, Glasscock III E M. Malignant glomus tumours.  Laryngoscope . 1999;  109 30-34
• 3 McCaffrey T V. Familial paragangliomas of the head and neck.  Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg . 1994;  120 1211-1216
• 4 Reubi J C, Laissue J, Krenning E P. Stomatostatin receptors in human cancer: incidence, characteristics, functional correlates, and clinical implications.  J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol . 1992;  43 27-35
• 5 Lamberts S WJ, Krenning E P, Reubi J C. The role of somatostatin and its analogues in the diagnosis and treatment of tumours.  Endo Review . 1991;  12 450-482
• 6 Reubi J C. A somatostatin analogue inhibits chondrosarcoma and insulinoma tumour growth.  Acta Endocrinol (Copen) . 1985;  109 108
• 7 Setyono-Han B, Henhelain M S, Fackens J A, Kliju J GM. Direct inhibitory effects of somatostatin (analogues) on the growth of human breast cancer cells.  Cancer Res . 1987;  47 1566
• 8 Mascardo R N, Sherline P. Somatostatin inhibits rapid centrosomal separation and cell proliferation induced by epidermal growth factor.  Endocrinology . 1982;  111 1394-1397
• 9 Lamberts S WJ, Reubi J C, Viterlinden P, Warff P, Van Hook P. Studies in the mechanism of action of the inhibitory effects of the somatostatin analogue SMS 201-995 on the growth of prolactin/adrenocorticotropin secreting pituitary tumour 7315a.  Endocrinology . 1986;  118 2188
• 10 Schally A V. Oncological applications of somatostatin analogues.  Cancer Res . 1988;  48 6977
• 11 Kau R, Arnold W. Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy and therapy of neuroendocrine (APUD) tumours of the head and neck.  Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh) . 1996;  116 345-349
• 12 Telisch F F, Bustillo A, Whiteman M LH. Octreotide scintigraphy for the detection of paragangliomas.  Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surg . 2000;  3 358-362
• 13 Moe K S, Daqing L, Linder T E, Schmid S, Fisch U. An update on the surgical treatment of temporal bone paragangliomas.  Skull Base Surg . 1999;  9 185-194
• 14 Simko T G, Griffin T W, Geres A J. The role of radiation therapy in the treatment of glomus jugulare tumours.  Cancer . 1978;  42 104-106
• 15 Arnold R. Therapeutic stratagies in the management of endocrine GEP tumours.  Eur J Clin Invest . 1990;  20 82-90
• 16 Hurst R D, Modlin I M. Use of radiolabelled somatostatin analogues in the identification and treatment of somatostatin receptor bearing tumours.  Digestion . 1993;  88-91 (88-91)
• 17 Tenebaum F, Caillou B, Parmentier C. Comparison of radiolabelled octreotide and meta-iodbenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy in malignant phaeochromocytoma.  J Nucl Med . 1995;  36,1 1-6