Effects of epidermal growth factor and analogues of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and somatostatin on phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of tyrosine residues of specific protein substrates in various tumors. Analogues of somatostatin (SS) and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) activate tyrosine phosphatases in MIA PaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cell line membranes and inhibit growth. We compared the substrates phosphorylated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) to those dephosphorylated by the SS analogue RC-160 (D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Trp-NH2) and [D-Trp6]LH-RH in cancer cell lines such as MIA PaCa-2 (human pancreatic cancer), HCPC (hamster cheek pouch carcinoma), A-549 (human lung cancer), HT-29 (human colon cancer), and R3230AC (breast cancer). EGF phosphorylated proteins of 170, 65, and 60 kDa and analogues of SS and LH-RH promoted the dephosphorylation of these proteins in MIA PaCa-2 and HCPC cell lines. The EGF receptor is 170 kDa. pp60src (60 kDa) is known to be a substrate for EGF receptor. The LH-RH receptor is also 60 kDa. The effects of RC-160 and [D-Trp6]LH-RH were quantitatively different. Examinations of HT-29, A-549, and R3230AC cancer cell lines revealed no phosphorylation by EGF or dephosphorylation by RC-160 and [D-Trp6]LH-RH. In addition to the 170-, 65-, and 60-kDa proteins, 35-kDa proteins were also phosphorylated in some cancer cell lines. This work demonstrates that analogues of SS and LH-RH can reverse the effects of EGF biochemically as well as functionally. 