# Di Bella multitherapy

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/di-bella-multitherapy/  
OnCo record `di-bella-multitherapy` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The Di Bella method combines somatostatin, melatonin, bromocriptine, retinoids and low-dose chemotherapy, and was hugely popular in Italy in the late 1990s. Eleven government-funded trials found no complete responses, a partial response rate under one per cent and considerable side effects.

## Summary

Physiologist Luigi Di Bella promoted the regimen as a non-toxic cancer cure, on the theory that growth hormone and prolactin drive cancer growth; somatostatin suppresses growth hormone and bromocriptine suppresses prolactin, and low doses of cyclophosphamide or hydroxyurea were added. Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs summary records how, after public and political pressure in Italy, courts ordered somatostatin to be reimbursed and the Italian National Institute of Health supported 11 open-label phase 2 studies in 8 cancers, organised with Di Bella. Those trials found no complete responses, a 0.8 per cent partial response rate and considerable toxicity. Small uncontrolled reports with similar regimens in lymphoma and osteosarcoma claimed better results, but they lack controls. Side effects include pain at the tumour site, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, drowsiness, high blood sugar and, with cyclophosphamide, anaemia and low platelets; MSK records a woman who developed acute myeloid leukaemia attributed to chronic cyclophosphamide. Somatostatin can reduce or abolish the pain relief from morphine and methadone, which matters for anyone with cancer pain.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: negative
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: Di Bella method; Di Bella regimen; Di Bella's tetralogy; DBM
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:no-benefit
- Principle: Hormone suppression (somatostatin, bromocriptine) plus melatonin, retinoids and low-dose chemotherapy; the components are real drugs but the combination showed no meaningful activity in trials.
- Strengths: Tested in 11 phase 2 trials, so the answer is clear
- Limitations: No complete responses and 0.8 per cent partial responses; Considerable toxicity; Somatostatin blunts opioid pain relief

## Sources

- MSK About Herbs: Di Bella multitherapy (page last updated 24 February 2023): https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/di-bella-multitherapy

## Connected records

- technologies: [Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment](https://onco.cc/technologies/alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment/), [Gonzalez regimen (pancreatic proteolytic enzymes)](https://onco.cc/technologies/gonzalez-regimen/), [Insulin potentiation therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/insulin-potentiation-therapy/), [Melatonin as a cancer adjunct](https://onco.cc/technologies/melatonin-cancer/)
- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- drugs: [Cyclophosphamide](https://onco.cc/drugs/cyclophosphamide/), [Hydroxyurea (hydroxycarbamide)](https://onco.cc/drugs/hydroxyurea/)
- bottlenecks: [Misinformation and unproven therapies](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/)

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