Results published in Kidney International (June 2026) report that lanreotide, a long-acting somatostatin analogue, did not slow kidney function decline in adults with ADPKD and measured GFR of 30-89 mL/min/1.73 m². The French trial (NCT02127437), led by Dominique Joly, randomized patients to monthly lanreotide 120 mg or placebo for three years, with iohexol-clearance measured GFR as the primary endpoint.
The primary endpoint was not met. The annualized between-arm difference in measured GFR trajectory was -0.3 mL/min/1.73 m² per year (95% CI -3.4 to 2.8). A creatinine-based eGFR analysis did show a +1.2 mL/min/1.73 m² per year difference favoring lanreotide, but that signal was not reproduced by cystatin C-based eGFR or urinary creatinine clearance — consistent with an effect on creatinine physiology rather than on true kidney function.
Kidney event rates and quality-of-life scores were similar between arms. Gastrointestinal adverse events were more frequent with lanreotide, and hypoglycemia occurred in 11.1% of lanreotide-treated participants versus 1.4% on placebo — a signal the authors flag for monitoring. Enrollment stopped at 144 of 180 planned participants due to slow recruitment.
Somatostatin analogues have consistently reduced kidney and liver cyst volume in ADPKD without translating that into preserved kidney function, and this trial reinforces that pattern. For patients, the practical takeaway is that volume-based improvements do not automatically mean functional benefit — a caution worth carrying into the interpretation of any TKV-based result.