Octreotide Depot: Uses, Side Effects and Dosage

What Octreotide Depot is used for:

Octreotide Depot is used in adults who are adequately being treated with octreotide injection for:

• metastatic carcinoid tumours. Octreotide Depot treats severe diarrhoea and flushing caused by metastatic carcinoid tumours.
• vasoactive intestinal peptide-secreting tumours (VIPomas). Octreotide Depot treats excessive watery diarrhoea caused by these tumours.

• acromegaly. Acromegaly is a condition where there is an overproduction of growth hormones by a gland in the brain. Octreotide Depot is used to treat people with acromegaly:

  • when other types of treatment for acromegaly (surgery or radiotherapy) are not suitable or haven’t worked;
  • to cover the interim period until the radiotherapy becomes fully effective.

How Octreotide Depot works:

Octreotide Depot is believed to provide treatment by:

• reducing the overproduction of growth hormones made by the pituitary gland (a pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain). Too much growth hormone leads to an increase in the growth of tumours.
• slowing down the overproduction of some specific hormones and other related substances made by the stomach, bowels, or pancreas This overproduction in hormones can cause flushing and diarrhoea.
• increasing water absorption in the body.

The ingredients in Octreotide Depot are:

Medicinal ingredient: octreotide as octreotide acetate

Non-medicinal ingredients:

Powder (in vial): poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) and mannitol

Diluent (in pre-filled syringe): carboxymethylcellulose sodium, mannitol, poloxamer 188, and sterile water

Octreotide Depot comes in the following dosage forms:

Octreotide Depot is supplied in a kit, which includes:

• One glass vial

  • Powder for suspension (6 mL glass vial): 10 mg, 20 mg, or 30 mg of octreotide (as acetate);
• A pre-filled glass syringe containing 2 mL of diluent to be used for suspending the powder;
• One vial adapter to be used for delivering the diluent from the pre-filled syringe to the vial, without a needle;
• One 19G x 1.5” safety injection needle;
• An instruction booklet for detailed directions for use.

Do not use Octreotide Depot if:

• you are allergic to octreotide acetate or any other ingredients in Octreotide Depot and its package.

To help avoid side effects and ensure proper use, talk to your healthcare professional before you take Octreotide Depot. Talk about any health conditions or problems you may have, including if you:

• have high blood pressure (hypertension).
• have problems with your blood sugar levels, either too high (hyperglycaemia) or too low (hypoglycaemia). Taking Octreotide Depot can also result in diabetes. Your doctor will monitor your blood sugar levels at the beginning of your treatment or when your dosage is changed.
• have or had gallstones or other biliary problems. Long-term use of Octreotide Depot may result in gallstones and other related problems.
• have or had pancreas problems.
• have problems with your liver (e.g. liver cirrhosis).
• have problems with your kidneys and require dialysis.
• have heart problems. Abnormal heart rate and rhythm have been reported during treatment with Octreotide Depot. If you are taking any blood pressure medications, your doctor may adjust your dosage while on Octreotide Depot.

Other warnings you should know about:

If you take Octreotide Depot, you may experience the following:

• Growth of tumours. This can cause serious complications (i.e. vision problems). Your doctor will monitor your condition and may provide other treatments.
• Hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone). If you receive long-term treatment with Octreotide Depot your doctor may wish to check your thyroid function periodically.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

If you are pregnant, able to get pregnant or think you are pregnant, there are specific risks you should discuss with your doctor.

• Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant or think you may be pregnant during treatment with Octreotide Depot.
• Effective birth control methods should be used during treatment with Octreotide Depot. Talk to your doctor about birth control methods that may be right for you.

• If you are taking Octreotide Depot to treat acromegaly, there is an increase in risk of you developing the following conditions:

  • Diabetes during pregnancy.
  • High blood pressure.
  • Worsening of heart disease.
• If you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Octreotide Depot passes into your breast milk. Do not breastfeed during your treatment with Octreotide Depot.

Nutrition

Taking Octreotide Depot may alter your ability to absorb vitamin B12 and dietary fat. If you are receiving an intravenous nutritional feeding, zinc levels in your body may also increase. Your doctor will monitor your levels of dietary fat, vitamin B12 and zinc during your treatment.

Tell your healthcare professional about all the medicines you take, including any drugs, vitamins, minerals, natural supplements or alternative medicines.

The following may interact with Octreotide Depot:

• drugs to control blood pressure (e.g. beta blockers, calcium channel blockers)
• drugs to control blood sugar (e.g. sulfonylureas, insulin, and diazoxide)
• cimetidine
• cyclosporine
• bromocriptine
• anti-diarrheal agents (affect fluid and electrolytes)
• lutetium (¹⁷⁷Lu) oxodotreotide (LUTATHERA^®), a radiopharmaceutical drug. If you are going to get LUTATHERA treatment, your doctor may stop and/or change your treatment with Octreotide Depot.

How to take Octreotide Depot:

• Your doctor or nurse will give you your injection of Octreotide Depot.
• Octreotide Depot is injected into the muscles of your buttocks. For each injection, the doctor or nurse should alternate between the left and right buttocks.
• The vials should be examined before use. Do not use if the vial is damaged, the powder is discoloured or contains unusual particulate matter.

Usual dose:

Dose: One vial every 4 weeks

Usual starting dose: 20 mg every 4 weeks. The dose may be changed later depending on your condition.

Overdose:

Missed dose:

If you miss your injection, please contact your doctor as soon as possible.

Possible side effects from using Octreotide Depot:

These are not all the possible side effects you may have when taking Octreotide Depot. If you experience any side effects not listed here, tell your healthcare professional.

• behaviour changes

  • anxiety, sadness, moody, nervous, inability to sleep
• breast pain

• cold

  • runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, sinus congestion, body aches, sneezing
• constipation
• cramps
• diarrhoea
• discoloration of stools
• dizziness
• fainting
• fatty stools
• feeling of fullness in the stomach
• fever
• flatulence (wind)
• flu-like symptoms
• hair loss
• having the urge to empty your bowels
• headache
• hot flashes
• increased sweating
• indigestion
• joint, leg(s), muscle, or back pain
• loss of appetite
• nausea
• nose bleeds
• pain, swelling and/or rash at injection site
• rash or itchy skin

• stomach discomfort after meal

• stomach pain
• tiredness
• unusual swelling of the arms, hands, legs, feet and ankles, face

If you think you, or a person you are caring for, have been given too much Octreotide Depot, contact a healthcare professional, hospital emergency department, regional poison control centre or Health Canada’s toll-free number, 1-844 POISON-X (1-844-764-7669) immediately, even if there are no signs or symptoms.

• vomiting
• weakness or lack of energy

Treatment with Octreotide Depot may cause a change in thyroid function tests and liver function tests.

Serious side effects and what to do about them

If you have a troublesome symptom or side effect that is not listed here or becomes bad enough to interfere with your daily activities, tell your healthcare professional.

Reporting side effects

You can report any suspected side effects associated with the use of health products to Health Canada by:

• Visiting the Web page on Adverse Reaction Reporting (canada.ca/drug-device-reporting) for information on how to report online, by mail or by fax; or
• Calling toll-free at 1-866-234-2345

NOTE: Contact your healthcare professional if you need information about how to manage your side effects. The Canada Vigilance Program does not provide medical advice.

Storage:

The Octreotide Depot powder and diluent should be stored at 2 to 8°C (in a refrigerator). Do not freeze. Keep the vial in the outer carton in order to protect it from light. The vials should be allowed to reach room temperature on the day of the injection but must be protected from light. However, the suspension must only be prepared immediately before injection. Once removed from the refrigerator, the vials will usually reach room temperature within 30 to 60 minutes.

Do not use Octreotide Depot after the expiry date.

Keep out of reach and sight of children.

If you want more information about Octreotide Depot:

• Talk to your healthcare professional.
• Find the full product monograph that is prepared for healthcare professionals and includes this Patient Medication Information by visiting the Health Canada Drug Product Database website: (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/drug-products/drug-product-database.html); the manufacturer’s website (www.sterimaxinc.com); or by calling 1-800-881-3550.

Date of Authorization: 2026-05-05