A trial looking at lanreotide autogel for neuroendocrine tumours of the digestive system that have spread

Cancer type:

Neuroendocrine tumour (NET)

Status:

Results

Phase:

Phase 3

This trial looked at a drug called lanreotide autogel to stop or slow the growth of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). It was for people with NETs that couldn’t be removed with an operation or had spread to another part of the body from where it started.

Neuroendocrine tumours are a rare group of cancers that make and release hormones. They normally start in the digestive system Open a glossary item but can sometimes appear elsewhere in the body.

Lanreotide autogel is a man made form of a hormone called somatostatin Open a glossary item . Doctors already use it to treat a type of neuroendocrine tumour called carcinoid tumour .

This trial compared lanreotide autogel to a dummy drug (placebo Open a glossary item ). The aims of the trial were to find out

How well lanreotide autogel slows or shrinks these tumours
More about the side effects
More about quality of life

Summary of results

The trial team found that lanreotide autogel was a useful treatment for people with neuroendocrine tumours that have spread and can’t be removed with an operation.

204 people took part and

Half had lanreotide autogel injections
Half had dummy injections (placebo)

On average, people took the drug for 2 years. The researchers looked at whose cancer got worse while having treatment. They found this happened in

30 people having lanreotide autogel
58 people having the dummy drug

After treatment had finished, the trial team looked at the number of people living without their cancer getting worse. They found this was

53 people who had lanreotide
26 people who had the dummy drug

Both of the above results were statistically significant Open a glossary item . This means the difference between the 2 groups couldn’t have happened by chance.

The researchers also looked at how people rated their quality of life and found there was no difference between the 2 groups.

The side effects of lanreotide autogel were mild and included diarrhoea. A small number of patients had high sugar levels and gallstones but these didn’t cause them any problems.

The trial team concluded that lanreotide autogel worked well for people with neuroendocrine tumours that couldn’t be removed with an operation or had spread and it significantly slowed the growth of the tumours.

We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed Open a glossary item ) and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.