What the studies show
Reliable control of flushing and diarrhoea from hormone-secreting neuroendocrine tumours — the 1988 approval indication.
Several well-run randomised trials in people, pointing the same way. You can plan around this. It still says nothing about whether the effect is worth the side effects for you.
- 1Octreotide (Sandostatin, Sandostatin LAR) prescribing information and approved indications.FDA / EMA product informationLicensed indications; acromegaly and carcinoid data.
In context
Octreotide is an eight-amino-acid analogue of somatostatin, the hormone that inhibits growth hormone, insulin, glucagon and most gut hormones. Native somatostatin lasts two minutes; octreotide lasts hours, and a monthly depot lasts a month. It is the standard treatment for acromegaly — growth-hormone excess from a pituitary tumour — and for the flushing and diarrhoea of hormone-secreting neuroendocrine tumours. In the PROMID trial it more than doubled the time before such tumours progressed. It is prescription-only everywhere and, as the drug that suppresses growth hormone, sits at the opposite pole from the secretagogues sold on the grey market.
Octreotide is approved (rx). Legal status differs by country — see the regulation section or the jurisdiction pages.
Questions
Is Octreotide proven to help with carcinoid syndrome symptoms?
What studies are behind the grade?
Is Octreotide approved for this?
Other outcomes for Octreotide
- AAcromegaly (growth hormone and IGF-1 control)Approval-grade programmes; many RCTs
- ATumour progression in midgut neuroendocrine tumours1 placebo-controlled RCT (n=85)
- BOverall survival in neuroendocrine tumoursPROMID (underpowered)
- AAdverse effectsadverseDecades of use
Written and maintained by LYO Research — how pages are written and checked. Reviewed 10 September 2026. Grades count human evidence only; see how LYO grades. Not medical advice. Correct this page →