Lanreotide Autogel-120 mg as First-Line Treatment of Acromegaly

Recently, a new formulation of lanreotide, lanreotide Autogel (ATG) 60 mg, 90 mg and 120 mg was developed in order to further extend the duration of the release of the active ingredient. The ATG formulation consists of a solution of lanreotide in water with no additional excipients. ATG was found to have linear pharmacokinetics for the 60 to 120 mg doses and provided a prolonged dosing interval and good tolerability (1). In some previous studies, the ATG was demonstrated as effective as the micro-particle lanreotide (2,3) and as octreotide-LAR in patients with acromegaly (4-7). Data on the efficacy of ATG in newly diagnosed patients with acromegaly are still lacking. Similarly, the prevalence and amount of tumor shrinkage after ATG treatment is unknown. This information is particularly useful in the setting of first-line therapy of acromegaly that is currently becoming a more frequent approach to the disease (8). It is demonstrated that approximately 80% of the patients treated with depot somatostatin analogues as first line have a greater than 20% tumor shrinkage during the first 12 months of treatment (9). A definition of significant tumor shrinkage was provided in 14 studies (including a total number of patients of 424) and the results showed that 36.6% (weighted mean percentage) of patients receiving first-line somatostatin analogues therapy for acromegaly had a significant reduction in tumor size (10). About 50% of the patients were found to have a greater than 50% tumor shrinkage within the first year of treatment (10); in this study we found that percent decrease in IGF-I levels was the major determinant of tumor shrinkage (10). The current open, prospective study is designed to investigate the prevalence and amount of tumor shrinkage in newly diagnosed patients with acromegaly treated first-line with ATG.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Maximum age

80 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients with active acromegaly \[serum GH levels above 2.5 μg/liter and/or above 1 μg/liter after oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and abnormal IGF-I values\] with a micro- (\<10 mm max tumor diameter) or macroadenoma (\>10 mm max tumor diameter)
* Patients never treated before
* Patients who do not require immediate surgery because of neurological symptoms and/or emergency conditions
* Patients who signed an informed consent to participate to the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients already treated before with surgery or radiotherapy or with medical treatment
* Patients with mixed GH-PRL adenomas who require combined somatostatin and dopamine treatment

• RESULTAntonijoan RM, Barbanoj MJ, Cordero JA, Peraire C, Obach R, Valles J, Cherif-Cheikh R, Torres ML, Bismuth F, Montes M. Pharmacokinetics of a new Autogel formulation of the somatostatin analogue lanreotide after a single subcutaneous dose in healthy volunteers. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2004 Apr;56(4):471-6. doi: 10.1211/0022357023123. PMID 15099442
• RESULTCaron P, Beckers A, Cullen DR, Goth MI, Gutt B, Laurberg P, Pico AM, Valimaki M, Zgliczynski W. Efficacy of the new long-acting formulation of lanreotide (lanreotide Autogel) in the management of acromegaly. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Jan;87(1):99-104. doi: 10.1210/jcem.87.1.8153. PMID 11788630
• RESULTLucas T, Astorga R; Spanish-Portuguese Multicentre Autogel Study Group on Acromegaly. Efficacy of lanreotide Autogel administered every 4-8 weeks in patients with acromegaly previously responsive to lanreotide microparticles 30 mg: a phase III trial. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2006 Sep;65(3):320-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2006.02595.x. PMID 16918950
• RESULTAshwell SG, Bevan JS, Edwards OM, Harris MM, Holmes C, Middleton MA, James RA. The efficacy and safety of lanreotide Autogel in patients with acromegaly previously treated with octreotide LAR. Eur J Endocrinol. 2004 Apr;150(4):473-80. doi: 10.1530/eje.0.1500473. PMID 15080776
• RESULTAlexopoulou O, Abrams P, Verhelst J, Poppe K, Velkeniers B, Abs R, Maiter D. Efficacy and tolerability of lanreotide Autogel therapy in acromegalic patients previously treated with octreotide LAR. Eur J Endocrinol. 2004 Sep;151(3):317-24. doi: 10.1530/eje.0.1510317. PMID 15362960
• RESULTvan Thiel SW, Romijn JA, Biermasz NR, Ballieux BE, Frolich M, Smit JW, Corssmit EP, Roelfsema F, Pereira AM. Octreotide long-acting repeatable and lanreotide Autogel are equally effective in controlling growth hormone secretion in acromegalic patients. Eur J Endocrinol. 2004 Apr;150(4):489-95. doi: 10.1530/eje.0.1500489.