Lanreotide Autogel® in the Treatment of Acromegaly

BackgroundIn acromegaly expert surgery is curative in only about 60% of patients. Postoperative radiation therapy is associated with a high incidence of hypopituitarism and its effect on GH production is slow, so that adjuvant medical treatment becomes of importance in the management of many patients.ObjectiveTo delineate the role of lanreotide Autogel® in the treatment of acromegaly.MethodsSearch of Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases for clinical lanreotide studies in acromegaly.ResultsThe weighted mean of serum GH normalization by Lanreotide Autogel®, based on 10 published clinical studies, was 58% in 370 patients. These patients were mostly switched from other somatostatin analogs. Serum IGF-I concentration normalized in 48% of these patients. Three small studies, with a total of 60 patients, compared the efficacy of octreotide LAR and that of lanreotide Autogel®. The highest dose of lanreotide appeared to be equivalent with 20 mg of octreotide LAR. Observed side effects were comparable with ...