Octreotide dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Octreotide is an FDA-approved, long-lasting copy of somatostatin, used for acromegaly and hormone-making tumors.
Evidence grade for Octreotide: Moderate. The rule: at least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. The sum on this page: 2 completed trials, 140 people given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 140
- Human studies
- 2
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
Approved medicine. No human dose established for unlabelled uses
Labeled amounts sit on the prescribing information. This page records what trials measured, not a personal dose.
FDA-approved (Sandostatin)
3 effects reported, 1 unwanted, 2 wanted, by people using it, not a trial
Goal pages: Hormones and growth hormone
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
Octreotide is a long-lasting copy of somatostatin, the body's off switch for growth hormone. It turns growth hormone and several gut hormones down. Doctors use it for acromegaly, a disease of too much growth hormone, and for tumors that pump out hormones. It is sold as Sandostatin. It is approved and prescription only.
What people take it for
- Controlling acromegaly.
- Stopping the flushing and diarrhoea caused by hormone-making tumors.
What studies in people showed
The biggest study had 115 people with acromegaly. Growth hormone fell below the target in 53 percent. IGF-1 came back to normal in 68 percent. That leaves a large group it did not control. In 25 people with a hormone-making tumor, 22 got fast relief from flushing and diarrhoea. That treats the symptoms, not the cancer itself.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- Fast relief from flushing and diarrhoea in 22 of 25 people with a hormone-making tumor.
- Growth hormone came down in about half of people with acromegaly.
The bad
- It did not control growth hormone in a large share of people with acromegaly.
- The studies on this page do not list side effects, and we have not collected user reports on this one yet.
Where these come from: Everything here is from the human studies on this page. We have not collected forum or user reports for this one yet.
My bottom line
A real specialist drug for rare hormone problems. If you are on growth hormone peptides, know that this is what the off switch looks like.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Measured in people
Goals Octreotide has been tested for in people, biggest studies first. We count only what the studies on this page say, so the real numbers may be higher.
- Growth hormone and IGF-1115 people · 1 study
35 of the 36 indexed goals have no study of any kind behind Octreotide
No study in people, animals or cells on this page reports a result for these. That does not prove Octreotide does nothing for them. It does mean anything you have heard about Octreotide and one of these did not come from a study cited here.
Show full evidence
What is Octreotide?
Octreotide is an FDA-approved, long-lasting copy of somatostatin, used for acromegaly and hormone-making tumors.
Octreotide is a lab-made copy of somatostatin, built to last much longer than the natural hormone. It does the opposite of growth hormone boosters. It turns growth hormone down, which is why it treats acromegaly, a disease of too much growth hormone. It is FDA-approved as Sandostatin, and a depot form lasts weeks. In a 115-person study in acromegaly, it brought growth hormone below 5 micrograms per litre in 53% and brought IGF-1 back to normal in 68%. In 25 people with a hormone-making tumor that caused flushing and diarrhoea, 22 got fast relief.
How does Octreotide work?
It switches on somatostatin receptors. That turns down growth hormone and several gut and pancreas hormones.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
140people, across 2 studies in people cited here
| Study | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Annals of Internal Medicine 1992 | 115 | 82% |
| New England Journal of Medicine 1986 | 25 | 18% |
One study holds 82% of these people, so the total rests more on one study than its size suggests. Counts are the number of people each study on this page says it signed up. That includes studies that only watched people and gave nobody the compound. Studies still signing people up are left out, and only studies cited on this page are counted.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
2 of 4 sources here are studies in people. The rest are not.
- Study in people · done in people250%
- Review of studies · sums up other studies250%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
The studies cover 4 different years, 1986 to 2005, counted from the list of sources on this page. The newest source on file is from 2005, more than five years ago. Research on it may have gone quiet.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Approved
UK
Approved
AU
Approved
CA
Approved
Approved in all four countries shown. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Peptide
- Molecule weight
- 1,019.2 Da
- Half-life
- About 1.7 hoursShort, 1 to 6 hours
- Chain length
- None on file
Half-life as stated on file: ~1.7 hours (long-acting depot lasts weeks)
No amino acid sequence is on file for Octreotide, so none is drawn rather than guessed from a name.
The studies we cite
- Study in people1986Treatment of the malignant carcinoid syndrome. Evaluation of a long-acting somatostatin analogue
It worked quickly, and in almost everyone they gave it to. Twenty five people had a hormone producing tumour that caused violent flushing and diarrhoea, and twenty two of them got relief. The relief came promptly. That hit rate is high enough that the missing comparison group matters less than it usually would, because these symptoms do not stop on their own. This is symptom control. It is not a treatment for the cancer itself.
SMS 201-995 promptly relieved flushing and diarrhea in 22 of 25 patients with metastatic carcinoid syndrome.
- Study in people1992Octreotide treatment of acromegaly. A randomized, multicenter study
In acromegaly the drug brought the hormone down in about half the patients. A hundred and fifteen people with the condition, which is caused by too much growth hormone, were treated across several hospitals. Growth hormone fell below the target level in 53 of every 100, and IGF-1 came back to normal in 68 of every 100. That leaves a large group it did not control. These are blood levels. Whether people felt better is a separate question this summary does not carry.
115 patients: octreotide lowered GH to below 5 micrograms/L in 53% and normalized IGF-1 in 68%.
- Review of studies1996Octreotide
Lamberts' review of how octreotide works and its uses in acromegaly and hormone-making tumors.
Lamberts' review of octreotide pharmacology and its uses in acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumors.
- Review of studies2005Long-acting somatostatin analog therapy of acromegaly: a meta-analysis
A review that pooled studies of long-acting drugs for acromegaly. Long-acting octreotide hit growth hormone and IGF-1 targets in more patients than lanreotide SR.
Octreotide LAR met GH and IGF-1 targets in a greater proportion of unselected patients than lanreotide SR.
Where to buy Octreotide
Octreotide is an approved medicine. The approved product comes from a pharmacy, with a prescription. The vials below are sold “for research” and are not the approved drug.
No seller we track lists Octreotide yet. We read sellers’ public product lists every week, and this section fills in as soon as one does. Every seller, graded
Common questions
Has Octreotide been tested in people?
Yes. 140 people given it across 2 completed trials cited here, 0 of which found nothing. Octreotide is an FDA-approved, long-lasting copy of somatostatin, used for acromegaly and hormone-making tumors.
What is the Octreotide dosage?
Approved medicine. No human dose established for unlabelled uses. Labeled amounts sit on the prescribing information. This page records what trials measured, not a personal dose. FDA-approved (Sandostatin)
Is Octreotide FDA-approved?
FDA-approved (Sandostatin)
How does octreotide relate to growth hormone peptides?
It is the opposite. Instead of releasing growth hormone, it copies somatostatin to turn it down. That is why it treats acromegaly, a disease of too much growth hormone.