Antiproliferative Effect of Octreotide in Patients With Metastasized Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Midgut

Inclusion Criteria: * Therapy-naive patients with histologically confirmed diagnosis of a locally inoperable or metastasized well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor of the midgut * curative surgery impossible * two-dimensional tumor formation assessable by Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) * Age ≥ 18 * Karnofsky-index \> 60 * written informed consent * proliferation index for Ki67 Exclusion Criteria: * hypersensitivity to octreotide * poorly differentiated or small cell neuroendocrine tumors * primary tumor outside of the midgut * prior treatment with somatostatin-analogue \> 4 weeks * prior treatment with alpha-interferon, chemotherapy, or chemoembolisation * participation in any other clinical trial * pregnancy or lactation * no secondary malignancy in anamnesis; with the exception of patients without any manifestation of the secondary malignancy (without relapse) after curative therapy within the last five years * severe decompensated organ malfunction (heart-, liver- insufficiency) Other protocol-defined exclusion criteria may apply.