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68Ga-labelled peptides for diagnosis of gastroenteropancreatic NET

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Abstract

In the past few years, the introduction of novel PET tracers labelled with 68Ga has changed the diagnostic approach to neuroendocrine tumours (NET) in specialized centres. Although somatostatin analogue tracers labelled with 111In have represented the gold standard imaging modality for NET detection in past decades, the advantages offered by both labelling somatostatin analogues with 68Ga and using PET/CT tomography for image acquisition, account for the increasing use of these tracers in clinical practice. There are an increasing number of reports of the higher accuracy of 68Ga-DOTA peptide PET/CT for the detection of NET lesions as compared to morphological imaging procedures and somatostatin receptor scintigraphy. Moreover, the use of 68Ga-DOTA peptides offers the possibility to noninvasively evaluate NET cells for the presence of somatostatin receptor expression, with direct therapeutic implications. Several practical advantages also favour the use of 68Ga-DOTA peptides including the relatively easy and economic synthesis process and the fact that 68Ga labelling can be performed in centres without an on-site cyclotron. We describe the advantages and limitations of 68Ga-DOTA peptide PET/CT imaging for the assessment of gastroenteropancreatic NET referring to the available literature as well as to our experience, and finally highlight potential future perspectives.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Medicine, S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna, Italy

    Valentina Ambrosini & Stefano Fanti

  2. Internal Medicine, S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna, Italy

    Davide Campana & Paola Tomassetti

  3. Nuclear Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Pad. 30, Via Massarenti 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy

    Valentina Ambrosini

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  1. Valentina Ambrosini
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  2. Davide Campana
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  4. Stefano Fanti
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Correspondence to Valentina Ambrosini.

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Ambrosini, V., Campana, D., Tomassetti, P. et al. 68Ga-labelled peptides for diagnosis of gastroenteropancreatic NET. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 39 (Suppl 1), 52–60 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-011-1989-4

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