Skip to content
Back to full profile

Somatostatin analog

Lanreotide

Somatuline · LAN

Somatostatin analog · approved 2007 · 6 references

Long-acting somatostatin analog for GEP-NETs; generally kidney-neutral with only mild electrolyte effects and reduced clearance in severe renal impairment.

Signature injury
Electrolyte Disturbance
Severity
Mild
Reversibility
Reversible
Onset
Not applicable for intrinsic injury; exposure rises gradually in renal impairment.

Signature kidney injury & incidence

Electrolyte Disturbance.

No characteristic intrinsic nephrotoxicity; lanreotide is generally kidney-neutral. Renal adverse events are not a defining feature and are not reliably quantified; mild electrolyte effects are uncommon.

Source: Caplin et al., NEJM 2014 (CLARINET; diarrhea-dominant, kidney-neutral)

Reported injury signatures: Electrolyte Disturbance, Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKI.

Renal toxicity profile

  1. Electrolyte DisturbancePrimary
  2. Prerenal / Hemodynamic AKISecondary

Onset timing & rechallenge

Variable / unpredictable — No intrinsic renal injury is described; exposure rises gradually in renal impairment without a defined onset.

Mechanism of kidney injury

Lanreotide has no established direct nephrotoxic mechanism. Renal relevance is pharmacokinetic: the drug is partly renally eliminated, so systemic exposure increases and clearance falls in moderate-to-severe renal impairment, but this reflects accumulation rather than tubular/glomerular injury. Antisecretory hormonal actions can rarely contribute to mild electrolyte or glycemic shifts. In the CLARINET pivotal trial the dominant adverse event was diarrhea, not kidney injury.

Clinical presentation

Usually no renal findings. When relevant, presentation is mild: occasional electrolyte or glucose disturbance from hormonal effects, or volume-related changes secondary to GI symptoms (diarrhea). Severe renal impairment manifests as increased drug exposure rather than new kidney pathology.

Management

No renal-specific management is generally required. In significant renal impairment, anticipate higher exposure and monitor for dose-related adverse effects. Manage electrolyte/glucose changes supportively; treat underlying tumor.

Risk factors

  • Severe chronic kidney disease or dialysis (reduced clearance/increased exposure)
  • Volume depletion from secretory diarrhea
  • Baseline electrolyte derangement from functioning tumors

Prevention

  • Recognize kidney-neutral profile; routine renal-specific prophylaxis not required at normal function
  • Account for increased exposure in severe renal impairment
  • Maintain euvolemia and replace losses in patients with diarrhea

Renal dose adjustment

Exposure increases with the degree of renal impairment; some labeling recommends a reduced starting dose in moderate-to-severe renal impairment for certain indications. Consult product information for the specific formulation and indication.

Dialyzability & ESKD dosing

Not established as meaningfully dialyzable for supplemental dosing; depot peptide pharmacology and case experience suggest cautious use in hemodialysis without routine post-dialysis supplementation.

Differential diagnosis

Electrolyte or volume disturbance in a NET patient on lanreotide more likely reflects secretory diarrhea or paraneoplastic hormone effects than a primary tubular lesion; consider concomitant nephrotoxins (e.g., everolimus, contrast) before attributing AKI to lanreotide.

Monitoring

  • Serum electrolytes and volume status, especially with diarrhea
  • Blood glucose (altered insulin/glucagon secretion)
  • Gallbladder/biliary status with chronic use
  • Renal function in advanced CKD to gauge exposure

Key trials & series

  • CLARINET (Caplin et al., NEJM 2014): lanreotide Autogel 120 mg prolonged PFS vs placebo in metastatic enteropancreatic NETs; most common adverse event diarrhea, not nephrotoxicity
  • Hemodialysis case of everolimus + lanreotide for metastatic atypical bronchial carcinoid (Brizzi et al., BMC Cancer 2018)

Clinical pearls

  • Mild electrolyte/glucose effects derive from broad antisecretory hormonal action.
  • Feasible in hemodialysis with caution per case reports.

Anticancer mechanism

Cyclic octapeptide somatostatin analog with high affinity for SSTR2 (and SSTR5) that suppresses secretion of growth hormone and gut/pancreatic hormones and exerts a direct antiproliferative effect on well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors, prolonging progression-free survival in enteropancreatic NETs.

Note

Reported use of lanreotide (with everolimus) in a hemodialysis patient with metastatic carcinoid supports feasibility in advanced renal failure with appropriate caution.

Guidelines & consensus

Each recommendation below is this atlas's faithful summary of the source, not a quotation from it — follow the PubMed link for the wording the society published. Summaries may be superseded; consult the current full text and individualize to the patient.

  • ADQI (2026) — The nephrotoxic effects of anti-cancer therapies: consensus report of the 34th Acute Disease Quality Initiative workgroupProvides expert-based statements (modified Delphi) on preventing and managing cisplatin/platinum-associated AKI, including isotonic IV hydration, attention to volume status and concomitant nephrotoxins, and incorporates evidence that IV magnesium supplementation may reduce cisplatin-associated AKI; emphasizes risk stratification and standardized AKI definitions.Nat Rev Nephrol · PMID 41361704
  • SIRM (2022) — SIRM-SIN-AIOM: appropriateness criteria for evaluation and prevention of renal damage in the patient undergoing contrast medium examinations-consensus statements from Italian College of Radiology (SIRM), Italian College of Nephrology (SIN) and Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM)Recommends eGFR-based renal risk assessment and pre/post-contrast isotonic saline or sodium bicarbonate hydration; advises maintaining a 5-7 day interval between iodinated contrast administration and cisplatin in cancer patients to reduce additive nephrotoxicity.Radiol Med · PMID 35303246
  • KDIGO (2020) — KDIGO Controversies Conference on onco-nephrology: understanding kidney impairment and solid-organ malignancies, and managing kidney cancerIdentifies platinum compounds (especially cisplatin) as leading cytotoxic causes of acute tubular injury, AKI, and electrolyte/magnesium wasting; calls for interdisciplinary onco-nephrology care, accurate GFR estimation, and individualized drug dosing in patients with reduced kidney function.Kidney Int · PMID 33126977
  • KDIGO (2020) — KDIGO Controversies Conference on onco-nephrology: kidney disease in hematological malignancies and the burden of cancer after kidney transplantationAddresses chemotherapy-associated AKI/CKD in hematologic cancer, GFR estimation and chemotherapy dosing in patients with reduced kidney function, and management priorities and research gaps for onco-nephrology care.Kidney Int · PMID 33276867
  • ADDIKD (2025) — Integrating International Consensus Guidelines for Anticancer Drug Dosing in Kidney Dysfunction (ADDIKD) into everyday practiceProvides GRADE-based, drug-specific dose-adjustment recommendations for anticancer agents in kidney dysfunction (illustrated for methotrexate, cisplatin, carboplatin and nivolumab); the recommendations build on Part 1's standardised CKD-EPI eGFR assessment rather than Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance.EClinicalMedicine · PMID 40290844
  • ADDIKD (2025) — Aligning kidney function assessment in patients with cancer to global practices in internal medicineThree consensus recommendations: assess kidney function by GFR (measured GFR or CKD-EPI eGFR), classify it using KDIGO categories, and use this uniform approach to dose anticancer drugs — moving cancer medicine away from Cockcroft-Gault estimated creatinine clearance.EClinicalMedicine · PMID 40290845
  • ADDIKD (2025) — A methodology for determining dosing recommendations for anticancer drugs in patients with reduced kidney functionEstablishes that, where RCT evidence is lacking, anticancer drug dosing recommendations in kidney dysfunction should be derived by critically appraising observational literature via GRADE combined with structured international multidisciplinary consensus voting.EClinicalMedicine · PMID 40290846
  • KDIGO (2013) — Diagnosis, evaluation, and management of acute kidney injury: a KDIGO summary (Part 1)Defines/stages AKI by serum creatinine and urine output; emphasizes avoiding nephrotoxins, maintaining euvolemia/perfusion, dose-adjusting drugs to kidney function, and monitoring high-risk patients — the framework applied to nephrotoxic anti-cancer agents.Crit Care · PMID 23394211
  • KDIGO (2024) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease: known knowns and known unknownsEvaluate and risk-stratify CKD, manage to delay progression and its complications, and practise explicit medication management and drug stewardship — the framework the atlas's G1–G5 eGFR banding and every renal dose-adjustment recommendation sit inside. Because the guideline excludes dialysis and transplant recipients by its own statement of scope, its recommendations do not carry to those settings, where this atlas's dialyzability and post-transplant guidance rests on other sources.Kidney Int · PMID 38519239
  • KDIGO (2021) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2021 Guideline for the Management of Glomerular DiseasesProvides the staging/treatment framework for drug-associated glomerular lesions (e.g., bisphosphonate- and interferon-related collapsing FSGS, VEGF-inhibitor podocytopathy/proteinuria), including immunosuppression and supportive RAAS-blockade strategies.Kidney Int · PMID 34556300
  • KDIGO (2024) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of ANCA-Associated VasculitisUpdates immunosuppressive induction (rituximab/cyclophosphamide), incorporates avacopan and lower-dose or glucocorticoid-sparing regimens — the management framework for drug- and checkpoint-inhibitor-associated ANCA/pauci-immune glomerulonephritis.Kidney Int · PMID 38388147
  • KDIGO (2024) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Lupus NephritisUpdates first-line lupus nephritis therapy to combination immunosuppression with the addition of belimumab or a calcineurin inhibitor (voclosporin) — informs management of immune-complex/lupus-like glomerulonephritis encountered with immunotherapy.Kidney Int · PMID 38182299
  • KDIGO (2025) — Executive summary of the KDIGO 2025 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy (IgAN) and Immunoglobulin A Vasculitis (IgAV)Encourages liberal kidney biopsy and stricter proteinuria control (<0.5 g/d, ideally <0.3 g/d) with RAAS blockers, SGLT2 inhibitors, and targeted-release budesonide — the framework for IgA-dominant glomerular lesions, including those triggered by immune-modulating cancer therapy.Kidney Int · PMID 40975525

References

6 peer-reviewed references. Citation metadata via PubMed / NLM.

  1. 1.Pharmacokinetics of the somatostatin analog lanreotide in patients with severe chronic renal insufficiency.Barbanoj M, Antonijoan R, Morte A, et al · Clin Pharmacol Ther · 1999 · PMID 10579475
  2. 2.Effect of Lanreotide on Kidney Function in Patients With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: The DIPAK 1 Randomized Clinical Trial.Meijer E, Visser FW, van Aerts RMM, et al · JAMA · 2018 · PMID 30422235
  3. 3.Effect of lanreotide on polycystic liver and kidneys in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: an observational trial.Gevers TJG, Hol JC, Monshouwer R, et al · Liver Int · 2014 · PMID 25369108
  4. 4.Lanreotide in metastatic enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.Caplin ME et al. · N Engl J Med · 2014 · PMID 25014687
  5. 5.Efficacy and safety of everolimus treatment in a hemodialysis patient with metastatic atypical bronchial carcinoid: case report and literature review.Brizzi MP et al. · BMC Cancer · 2018 · PMID 29558899
  6. 6.Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with Cancer.Rosner MH et al. · N Engl J Med · 2017 · PMID 28467867
Educational monograph from NephTox (nephtox.com). Not medical advice — verify against current guidelines before any clinical decision.