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Reproductive & sexual health

Triptorelin

A long-acting GnRH agonist depot used in prostate cancer and central precocious puberty.

L5Practice-changingApproved — narrow indicationApprovedHigh confidenceLast reviewed 2026-08-23
IM

Also known as: triptorelin pamoate, Trelstar, Decapeptyl

Evidence passport

Last reviewed 2026-08-23

Evidence level
L5Practice-changing
Confidence
High confidence
Human efficacy
82/100
Human safety
80/100
Regulatory status
Approved — narrow indication
Development
Approved
Routes
IM
Evidence base
Includes human data
Furthest stage
Approved
Source curation
Sources fully curated
Clinical maturity
Long-approved medicine across several formulations

Overview

Human evidence82/100
Preclinical evidence78/100
Human safety evidence80/100

Clinical maturity: Long-approved medicine across several formulations

Routes & formulations

Studied / approved routes

IM

Approved products are intramuscular depot injections on multi-week or multi-month schedules, per their labels.

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

  1. Discovery

  2. Preclinical

  3. Phase I

  4. Phase II

  5. Phase III

  6. Approved

Approved

What it is

A synthetic GnRH agonist formulated as long-acting depots; continuous exposure suppresses the pituitary-gonadal axis.

What people claim

  • Hormone suppression in prostate cancer
  • Management of central precocious puberty

What the evidence actually says

Decades of controlled evidence and clinical use support its labelled indications across several approved depot formulations.

Human evidence

  • Controlled trials supporting each approved formulation and indication.

Preclinical evidence

  • GnRH agonist pharmacology and depot formulation studies.

Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.

Mechanism and pathways

  • Sustained GnRH-receptor agonism desensitises the pituitary, suppressing gonadal steroid production.

Safety and unknowns

  • An initial hormone surge occurs before suppression, a labelled class effect of GnRH agonists.
  • Effects of intended hormone suppression dominate the profile; monitoring is label-defined.

Cancer relevance

No concern identified

Used therapeutically in hormone-sensitive cancer; no established cancer-causing signal.

Regulatory status

Approved products cover indications including advanced prostate cancer and central precocious puberty, depending on formulation. Each product's approval is indication-specific.

Evidence grade

L5Practice-changingHigh confidence

Replicated large randomised trials, pivotal Phase 3 programmes, or a major regulatory decision.

What would change our rating?

  • Not applicable at this evidence tier.

References and sources

Sources fully curated

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

No recorded changes yet. Baseline position set on 2026-08-23.