Home > About Sandostatin® LAR® > How To Administer Sandostatin® LAR® > Dosage For GEP NETs
Dosage for GEP NETs
This section offers dosage guidelines for Sandostatin® LAR® for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP NETs) .
Dosing Algorithm for GEP NETs
Sandostatin LAR is designed to be injected intramuscularly (intragluteally) once every 4 weeks. It should never be administered intravenously or subcutaneously. When beginning treatment with Sandostatin LAR, a specific procedure must be followed:
Sandostatin LAR for GEP NETs
Patients not currently receiving Sandostatin LAR should begin therapy with SC Sandostatin Injection. The suggested daily dose during the first 2 weeks of therapy ranges from 100 µg/day to 600 µg/day in divided doses. Some patients may require higher doses of up to 1500 µg/day.
Patients should be maintained on Sandostatin Injection for at least 2 weeks. Thereafter, patients who are considered responders to Sandostatin® Injection and who tolerate the drug may be switched to Sandostatin LAR in the dosing scheme described below.
Patients currently receiving Sandostatin Injection can be switched directly to Sandostatin LAR at a dose of 20 mg administered intragluteally at 4-week intervals for the initial 3 months, followed by dosage adjustment. Deltoid injections should be avoided because of significant discomfort at the injection site. Gluteal injection sites should be alternated to avoid irritation. Because of the need for serum octreotide to reach therapeutically effective levels following the initial injection of Sandostatin LAR, patients should continue to receive SC Sandostatin Injection for at least 2 weeks in the same dosage they were taking before the switch. An exacerbation of symptoms may occur if subcutaneous injections are not continued for this period. Some patients may require 3 to 4 weeks of combination SC Sandostatin/Sandostatin LAR therapy.
After 3 months of receiving a 20-mg dose of Sandostatin LAR, the dosage may be increased to 30 mg every 4 weeks if symptoms are not adequately controlled. Despite good overall control of symptoms, patients with carcinoid tumours and VIPomas often experience periodic exacerbation of symptoms (regardless of whether they are being maintained on Sandostatin Injection or Sandostatin LAR). During these periods, patients may be given Sandostatin Injection SC for a few days at the dose they were receiving prior to switching to Sandostatin LAR. When symptoms become controlled, the Sandostatin Injection SC can be discontinued.
Patients who achieve good control on a 20-mg dose may have their dose lowered to 10 mg for a trial period. If symptoms recur, the dose should be increased to 20 mg every 4 weeks. Many patients can be satisfactorily maintained at a 10-mg dose every 4 weeks. However, a 10-mg dose is not recommended as a starting dose because therapeutically effective levels of Sandostatin are reached more rapidly with a 20-mg dose. A dose of more than 30 mg is not recommended because there is no information on its usefulness.
Disclaimer:
The information in this section is not country-specific and may contain information that is outside the approved indications in the country in which you are located. Please refer to country-specific instructions for administration.
Disclaimer: This is an international website for Sandostatin® (Octreotide) and is intended for healthcare professionals outside the US. If you are a US resident, please click on the US Residents link at the top of this page. The information on this site is not country-specific and may contain information that is outside the approved indications in the country in which you are located.
