The use of long-acting somatostatin analogues in acromegaly

Current evidence suggests that the new depot somatostatin analogues octreotide LAR and lanreotide are at least as efficacious in the suppression of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) secretion as subcutaneous octreotide. An ongoing study is examining the GH and IGF-I responses to these depot formulations in individual patients. The preliminary results indicate that there is great variation between individuals in their responses to either drug; however, for the majority of patients, the GH and IGF-I responses to octreotide LAR are as well maintained at 6 weeks after the last injection as at 4 weeks, which is the manufacturer's recommended dosage interval. These results suggest that care needs to be taken to optimize the dose and dosage interval for each patient when commencing depot somatostatin analogue therapy.