Nuclear Medicine in Oncology
Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization, 2018
Carla Oliveira, Rui Parafita, Ana Canudo, Joana Correia Castanheira, Durval C. Costa
68Ga-conjugated peptides – namely, 68Ga-DOTA0-Tyr3-octreotide (68Ga-DOTA-TOC, 68Ga-edotreotide), 68Ga-DOTA0-1NaI3-octreotide (68Ga-DOTA-NOC) and 68Ga-DOTA0-Tyr3-octreotate (68Ga-DOTA-TATE) – are somatostatin analogue peptides that bind to their receptors (essentially SST2, SST3 and SST5 subunits) with a high, albeit variable, affinity to the peptide and subunits. Neuroendocrine tumours – in particular gastroenteropancreatic tumours – generally express a high density of receptors for somatostatin. Therefore, the PET/CT with 68Ga-conjugated peptides is recommended for locating, staging and restaging of neuroendocrine tumours, assessing their response to treatment and, additionally, when selecting plurimetastatic patients for an eventual treatment with radiolabelled conjugated peptides (which use only makes sense if the neoplastic cells are avid for these radiopharmaceuticals).