Octreotide may improve pharyngocutaneous fistula healing through downregulation of cystatins: A pilot study

Abstract Background Pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) and salivary leaks are well known complications of head and neck surgery. The medical management of PCF has included the use of octreotide without a well‐defined understanding of its therapeutic mechanism. We hypothesized that octreotide induces alterations in the saliva proteome and that these alterations may provide insight into the mechanism of action underlying improved PCF healing. We undertook an exploratory pilot study in healthy controls that involved collecting saliva before and after a subcutaneous injection of octreotide and performing proteomic analysis to determine the effects of octreotide. Methods Four healthy adult participants provided saliva samples before and after subcutaneous injection of octreotide. A mass‐spectrometry based workflow optimized for the quantitative proteomic analysis of biofluids was then employed to analyze changes in salivary protein abundance after octreotide administration. Results There were 3076 human, 332 Streptococcus mitis, 102 G. haemolyans, and 42 Granulicatella adiacens protein groups quantified in saliva samples. A paired statistical analysis was performed using the generalized linear model (glm) function in edgeR. There were and ~300 proteins that had a p