From the Guidelines
Lanreotide can cause several side effects, including gastrointestinal issues, injection site reactions, gallbladder problems, metabolic effects, and other symptoms, as reported in the most recent study 1.
Common Side Effects
- Gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and constipation
- Injection site reactions like pain, redness, and swelling
- Gallbladder problems, including gallstones, due to reduced gallbladder motility and bile secretion
- Metabolic effects, particularly high blood sugar or worsening diabetes, as the medication inhibits insulin secretion
Less Common Side Effects
- Fatigue, headache, dizziness, and joint pain
- Thyroid function abnormalities, hair loss, or changes in heart rate These side effects occur because lanreotide mimics somatostatin, which regulates multiple hormonal and digestive processes throughout the body.
Management of Side Effects
Most side effects are manageable and may diminish over time as the body adjusts to treatment, but patients should report persistent or severe symptoms to their healthcare provider for appropriate management, as suggested by 1 and 1.
Monitoring and Follow-up
Patients should have regular monitoring of circulating and urinary hormone levels, as well as relevant imaging, to assess the effectiveness of lanreotide treatment and potential side effects, as recommended by 1 and 1.
From the FDA Drug Label
What are the possible side effects of Lanreotide injection? Lanreotide injection may cause serious side effects, including: Gallstones (cholelithiasis) and complications that can happen if you have gallstones. Changes in your blood sugar (high blood sugar or low blood sugar). Slow heart rate. High blood pressure Changes in thyroid function. Fatty stool. The most common side effects of Lanreotide injection in people with GEP-NET include: stomach area (abdominal) pain muscle and joint aches vomiting headache pain, itching, or a lump at the injection site The most common side effects of Lanreotide Injection in people with carcinoid syndrome include: headache dizziness muscle spasm
The possible side effects of lanreotide injection include:
- Gallstones and related complications
- Changes in blood sugar levels, including high or low blood sugar
- Slow heart rate
- High blood pressure
- Changes in thyroid function, including hypothyroidism
- Fatty stool and malabsorption of dietary fats
- Common side effects in people with GEP-NET:
- Abdominal pain
- Muscle and joint aches
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Injection site reactions
- Common side effects in people with carcinoid syndrome:
From the Research
Lanreotide Side Effects
- The administration of lanreotide did not cause significant side effects, apart from transient abdominal pain and pain at the injection site in two patients 3.
- In one patient with gastrinoma, lanreotide was suspended due to the appearance of attacks of marked hypoglycemia 3.
- Lanreotide can affect glucose metabolism, with a meta-analysis showing that it can worsen 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (2h-OGTT) results and increase HbA1c levels, although it does not affect fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 4.
- Lanreotide can also decrease insulin levels and increase after-load glucose, suggesting that clinicians should consider targeting post-prandial glucose when treating acromegaly with lanreotide 4.
- Lanreotide has been shown to have powerful effects on gastrointestinal functions, including decreasing gastric acid secretion, abolishing bile salts and lipase responses to a meal, and increasing duodeno-caecal transit time 5.
- The most common adverse effects of somatostatin analogues, including lanreotide, are injection-site pain and gastrointestinal events, although the specific side effects of lanreotide may differ from those of other somatostatin analogues such as octreotide 6, 7.