Lanreotide
Lanreotide (Somatuline), long-acting somatostatin analogue
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
Also known as: Somatuline Depot, Somatuline Autogel, Lanreotide acetate
A somatostatin analogue that extended progression-free survival in neuroendocrine tumours in a randomised phase 3, which is a hard endpoint that very few peptides on this site can claim.
Overview
Somatostatin is the body's universal inhibitory hormone, switching off growth hormone, insulin, glucagon and most gut secretions. Its native half-life is a couple of minutes, so the useful drugs are engineered analogues, and lanreotide is one of two that matter clinically alongside octreotide.
Its most important result is in cancer. The CLARINET trial randomised patients with metastatic enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours and found prolonged progression-free survival. That is a genuine clinical endpoint in a randomised phase 3, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which puts lanreotide in a small minority of peptides on this site: one whose evidence concerns disease progression rather than a biomarker.
It is also used for acromegaly, where suppressing growth hormone is the point, and that is the inverse of what most growth hormone peptides on this site are sold for.
Mechanism of action
A cyclic octapeptide analogue of somatostatin with high affinity for somatostatin receptor subtypes 2 and 5, formulated as a prolonged-release depot. Activating those receptors, which are G protein-coupled and inhibitory, suppresses hormone secretion from pituitary and neuroendocrine cells and reduces gut motility and secretion. In neuroendocrine tumours the antiproliferative effect appears to come from direct receptor-mediated signalling in the tumour rather than only from suppressing hormone output, which is why it delays progression rather than merely controlling symptoms.
Human evidence
A substantial approved-drug record across three indications, anchored by a randomised phase 3 with a progression-free survival endpoint.
- CLARINET randomised phase 3 prolonged progression-free survival in metastatic enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours.
- Approved for acromegaly, where it suppresses growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1.
- Approved for carcinoid syndrome, controlling the flushing and diarrhoea caused by hormone-secreting tumours.
- Gallstones are a recognised consequence of suppressing gallbladder contractility, and are common enough to be expected rather than idiosyncratic.
- Hyperglycaemia or hypoglycaemia can occur, because the drug suppresses both insulin and glucagon.
- Injection site reactions and gastrointestinal effects are common.
What this does not tell you: Progression-free survival is a real endpoint and it is not overall survival, a distinction that matters in oncology because a drug can delay radiographic progression without extending life. The acromegaly evidence concerns a disease of growth hormone excess, so it says nothing useful about the growth hormone secretagogues sold for the opposite purpose. Note also that the deep subcutaneous depot injection is a clinical procedure rather than a self-administered one in most settings.
Reading the research record
Lanreotide is worth a page partly as a benchmark. The site documents many peptides whose best evidence is a biomarker in twenty people. This one has a randomised phase 3 with a disease progression endpoint in the New England Journal of Medicine, and it is instructive to see what that actually looks like next to the rest.
It also inverts a common assumption here. Much of the grey market for growth hormone peptides rests on the idea that more growth hormone is better with age. Lanreotide is approved for suppressing growth hormone, because in acromegaly the excess causes cardiomyopathy, diabetes, arthropathy and premature death. Growth hormone is not a substance where more is straightforwardly better.
The evidence, charted
Fig. 1 · evidence composition
1of 1 citation (100%) is in people
Every citation cited here is Human work; no other study type is cited on this page. This count is of our own citation list and understates any literature larger than the sources we cite.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Every citation here was published in 2014.
Too few distinct publication years on this page to plot as a timeline. The newest citation on file is from 2014, more than five years ago; the published record may have gone quiet.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Approved
UK
Approved
AU
Approved
CA
Approved
Approved in all four jurisdictions shown. A jurisdiction's classification is a regulatory fact, not a verdict on the science; see Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Key studies & citations
- Human2014
Lanreotide in metastatic enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
The CLARINET randomised phase 3 in metastatic enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours, showing prolonged progression-free survival on lanreotide. A hard clinical endpoint in a randomised trial, which very few peptides documented on this site can claim.
New England Journal of Medicine
Frequently asked questions
Does lanreotide treat cancer?
It delays progression in metastatic enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours, shown in a randomised phase 3 with progression-free survival as the endpoint. That is not the same as extending overall survival, which the trial did not establish.
How is it different from octreotide?
Both are somatostatin analogues targeting the same main receptor subtypes. The practical differences are formulation and dosing schedule, with lanreotide given as a deep subcutaneous depot every four weeks. No trial establishes one as clinically superior for the shared indications.
Why would anyone suppress growth hormone?
Because in acromegaly the excess causes cardiomyopathy, diabetes, joint destruction and shortened life. That is worth knowing alongside the growth hormone secretagogues elsewhere on this site, which are sold on the premise that raising growth hormone with age is beneficial.