Leuprolide (Lupron)_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as Lupron, Lupron Depot, leuprorelin, Eligard
The GnRH agonist that shuts hormones down by overstimulating them first.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Leuprolide (Lupron)?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
Shuts down sex hormones by overstimulating the switch until it stops working. There is a surge before the shutdown, which matters in prostate cancer.
Leuprolide acetate, a synthetic GnRH agonist producing pituitary desensitisation and subsequent gonadotropin suppression after an initial stimulatory flare. FDA-approved since 1985 across depot formulations for advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids and central precocious puberty.
What it's used for
A prescription drug for prostate cancer, endometriosis, fibroids and early puberty in children.
How does Leuprolide (Lupron) work?
What it does in the body, and where.The GnRH agonists work by a route that sounds backward and matters clinically.
- 01Continuous stimulation causes shutdownGnRH is normally released in pulses. A constant signal desensitises the pituitary receptors, and gonadotropin release falls, taking testosterone or estrogen with it.
- 02The flare comes firstBefore suppression there is a surge. In advanced prostate cancer that testosterone flare can briefly worsen symptoms, which is why an antiandrogen is often given alongside at the start.
- 03This is what the antagonists were built to avoidDegarelix and cetrorelix block the receptor directly and suppress hormones without a flare. Triptorelin and goserelin, both in this library, are agonists like leuprolide.
What else is it used for?
Each use below carries its own evidence level. Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
- Advanced prostate cancerFDA-approved
- Endometriosis and uterine fibroidsFDA-approved
- Central precocious puberty in childrenFDA-approved
- Gender-affirming care, as a puberty blockerClinical use
The published record
Papers and trials about Leuprolide (Lupron)
367 papers tagged human · 230 not reviews or lab · 80 clinical trial publications
521 registered trials · 34 with posted results
Furthest stage reached: Approved in the US
Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count. 495 papers and 100 trials indexed in detail.
At a glance
Four things to know about Leuprolide (Lupron)
Evidence
FDA-approved
Category
Sexual and hormonal
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
About 3 hours
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.Set by the label and the depot formulation, monthly to six-monthly depot. Set by the prescription FDA label
This is a prescription drug. Duration and schedule are set by the label and the prescriber, not by a cycling convention.
About 3 hoursFDA label
Leuprolide itself clears in about 3 hours, measured after a 1 mg intravenous bolus in healthy men. The depot formulations do not change that. They keep releasing the drug for one, three or four months, so what differs between products is how long the supply lasts, not how fast the peptide goes.
Source: Lupron Depot label section 12.3, DailyMed setid 00c486b0-bd7b-4898-834d-8c656e5e73cb
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
How do I dose and price it?
Enter your vial and your dose. Pick a mix. We show the draw and the cost.The vial holds a fixed amount of drug. Adding more water does not make more drug, it just spreads it thinner, so you draw a bigger number on the syringe for the same dose.
Choose your mix
Measuring the water1 mL = one full 100-unit syringe.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Dry powder in the freezer or fridge. Once mixed, fridge, and use within about a month.
Unmixed lyophilized Leuprolide (Lupron) keeps for a long time cold. Once you add water the clock starts: most reconstituted vials hold up for roughly 28 to 30 days at fridge temperature. Keep it out of light, and do not freeze it after mixing.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.Solubility, computed: 33% charged residues, 44% hydrophobic. Water usually sufficient.
A first-pass rule from peptide manufacturers' guidance. It does not account for disulfide bridges, salt form or how the powder was dried, and it predicts what should be easy rather than what will happen in your vial.
Who should avoid it
- Pregnancy, where it can cause harm to a developing baby
- Undiagnosed abnormal vaginal bleeding
- Known hypersensitivity to GnRH analogs
- Use outside a prescription, where no label governs the dose
Stop and get help
- Worsening bone pain or urinary difficulty in the first weeks, which can reflect the initial flare
- Signs of an allergic reaction, including facial or throat swelling or trouble breathing
- New or worsening depression
Common effects
- Hot flushes
- Reduced libido and sexual function
- Mood changes
- Bone density loss with long term use
- Injection site reactions
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Leuprolide (Lupron) approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Yes. Leuprolide (Lupron) is FDA approved and available on prescription in the United States.
- Approval statusFDA-approved
- RouteInto a muscle, or under the skin
- Checked24 August 2026
- DoseFrom the drug label. The manufacturer tested this range and a regulator reviewed it.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- SourcesNone traced yet.
What has happened recently
FDA-approved since 1985 in depot formulations for prostate cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids and central precocious puberty. Prescription only.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like Leuprolide (Lupron)?
Others in Sexual and hormonal, side by side.If you're weighing Leuprolide (Lupron), it's worth reading Lutetium-177 dotatate (Lutathera), Octreotide (Sandostatin), and Pasireotide (Signifor) in the same class.
The GnRH agonist that shuts hormones down by overstimulating them first.
- Dose
- Set by the label and the depot formulation
- How often
- Monthly to six-monthly depot
A peptide used as a delivery van: it finds tumour cells with somatostatin receptors and irradiates them from the inside.
- Dose
- 7.4 GBq every 8 weeks, 4 doses (label)
- How often
- Every 8 weeks, for 4 doses
An approved hormone blocker since 1988: it lowers growth hormone instead of raising it.
- Dose
- 50 to 500 mcg three times daily, or a 10 to 40 mg monthly depot (label)
- How often
- Two to four times daily, or every 4 weeks (depot)
A ring-shaped six-residue drug for Cushing's disease and acromegaly, traded for a high rate of diabetes.
- Dose
- 0.3 to 0.9 mg twice daily, or 10 to 60 mg monthly LAR (label)
- How often
- Twice daily (Signifor) or every 28 days (Signifor LAR)
Guides for this compound
- How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
- How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
Sources
No primary source has been traced for this compound yet. Treat everything on this page as unverified until one is. How we grade evidence
Beyond these, 595 records are indexed. Browse the records