Reproductive & sexual health
Goserelin
A GnRH agonist delivered as a small implant under the skin of the abdomen, suppressing sex hormones in prostate and breast cancer and certain gynaecological conditions.
- How settled this rating is:
- high confidence in the current evidence rating
- Routes studied:
- Implant
- Also known as:
- Zoladex, goserelin acetate
- Last reviewed:
- 2026-08-23
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Evidence passport
Goserelin
A one-screen evidence identity for this compound. These fields describe research maturity, confidence and legal status. They are not a safety guarantee, efficacy percentage or recommendation.
- Evidence level
- L5Repeated human trials
- Confidence
- High confidence in rating
- Regulatory status
- Approved medicine (jurisdiction-specific) · See jurisdiction details
- Development status
- Approved
Evidence strength
Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.
The 0-100 values rate the strength and maturity of evidence, not how effective or safe the compound is.
- Evidence base
- Includes human studies
- Furthest established stage
- Approved
- Human research maturity
- Established hormone-suppression implant
- Source curation
- Sources fully curated
Routes recorded
Overview
Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.
Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.
How to read these scores
Every number here rates the evidence, not the compound. They are editorial 0-100 strength ratings, not percentages, and not a rating out of five stars.
- Human efficacy evidence strength — Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
- Preclinical evidence strength — Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.
- Human safety evidence strength — Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number. A score of 80 does not mean “80% safe”.
- Evidence level (L0-L5) — the strongest type of study behind the compound, from anecdote (L0) to large replicated human trials (L5). It is a description of the study evidence, not a quality, safety or recommendation rating.
- Confidence — how likely we think it is that this rating changes as new research lands. Low confidence means the picture is unsettled, not that the compound is bad.
None of these ratings is medical advice, a safety guarantee, or a recommendation to use anything. How we grade evidence.
How far human research has progressed: Established hormone-suppression implant
Routes & formulations
Studied / approved routes
Administered as a biodegradable depot implant placed under the skin of the anterior abdominal wall; release intervals differ by product strength.
Route availability is not evidence of efficacy, and evidence from one route does not transfer to another. The Registry never provides dosing or sourcing information.
Peptide lifecycle
Discovery
Preclinical
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Approved
What it is
A GnRH-agonist peptide formulated into a slow-release implant that continuously suppresses pituitary gonadotrophin output.
What people claim
- Suppresses sex-hormone production in hormone-sensitive cancers
- Manages endometriosis and related gynaecological conditions
What the evidence actually says
Long-standing controlled evidence and clinical use support its hormone-suppression indications; the implant format is a good example of a peptide medicine engineered around a delivery problem.
Related evidence
Useful next reads based on this compound — not recommendations.
- Related compound
Leuprolide evidence profile
A GnRH agonist whose depot injections switch off sex-hormone production — used in prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty depending on the product.
- Compare
Compare Goserelin vs Leuprolide evidence
Same questions, same fields, side by side — including how much human evidence exists.
- Context
Safety Centre
What approved, investigational and unapproved actually mean for documented human safety.
- Context
Research Desk
How to read animal, early-phase and controlled human studies without over-reading them.
Human evidence
- Randomised trials and decades of use in prostate cancer, breast cancer and gynaecology.
Preclinical evidence
- GnRH-agonist pharmacology and depot-release formulation science.
Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.
Mechanism and pathways
- Continuous GnRH-receptor agonism desensitises pituitary gonadotrophs, suppressing LH/FSH and downstream sex steroids.
Safety and unknowns
- Labelled class effects mirror hormone deprivation: hot flushes, bone-density loss with prolonged use and an initial flare.
- Implant insertion is a minor clinical procedure with its own labelled considerations.
Cancer relevance
This section covers questions raised by how the compound works in the body, plus anything regulators and trial teams keep an eye on. It is not a statement that this compound causes cancer — for most compounds here, no human data exist in either direction.
No concern identified
Regulatory status
Regulatory decisions apply to specific jurisdictions, products, formulations and indications. An approval elsewhere is not automatically an approval in your country.
Named regulators: FDA (US)
FDA-approved (Zoladex) as a subcutaneous implant for indications including palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer and certain breast-cancer and gynaecological uses, depending on product strength and label.
Evidence grade
Substantial, consistent controlled human evidence supporting a specified outcome, preferably independently replicated. Approval is reported separately.
What would change our rating?
- Not applicable at this evidence tier.
References and sources
Source transparency
A provenance snapshot of this profile. Counts show what kinds of sources are cited, not how much scientific weight each source deserves.
- Last editorial review
- 2026-08-23
- Recently reviewed · 54 days ago
- Linked curated sources
- 1
- Sources still pending
- 0
- External specialist reviews
- 0
- None recorded for this profile
Review provenance
Registry editorial review: Colin Jackson-White, creator and editor, who is not a doctor or clinician. External specialist review is credited only when a named reviewer has completed a review of this exact profile.
Literature-discovery and AI tools may help locate or challenge candidate evidence, but they are not counted as evidence sources here. Registry judgements are tied to the underlying papers, trial records, regulator documents and official study records.
- Regulatory / labelFDA label: Zoladex (goserelin acetate implant)
Source hierarchy: regulatory documents and trial registries first, peer-reviewed work next, sponsor material flagged as non-independent. We never use supplier or clinic marketing as evidence, and where a verified source has not yet been curated we say so rather than inventing one.
Evidence change history
These entries record changes to our assessment of the published evidence — not changes to the compound itself.
No recorded changes yet. Baseline position set on 2026-08-23.