Patients who take long-acting somatostatin analogues (Sandostatin) should delay this test for 3-4 weeks after their last dose. Physicians plan to use Netspot PET in order to diagnose neuroendocrine tumors, determine treatment options, plan surgery, and monitor for recurrence.

In addition, finding NETs in this manner means the patient would likely be eligible for a new treatment, called Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT), that uses hormone-tagged radiation to find and attack the cancer cells. The improved image can help the oncologist choose optimal therapy, such as choosing surgery or systemic therapy. Because PET can be used, the physician gets a very clear, high-resolution image that can identify very small lesions that would otherwise be missed.

Completed in a couple hours, this test is much quicker than the onerous three-day octreoscan (which uses a radioactive drug and a gamma camera to measure the radio material over time. This imaging approach significantly improves detection of NETs in three important ways: How is it better than current testing methods? Ga-68 dotatate is a radioactive lookalike of the hormone that binds to the somatostatin receptors, highlighting the tumor on PET imaging. While NETs don’t consume glucose like other cancers, their cells do have plenty of receptors for the hormone somatostatin, which regulates the endocrine system. (PET scans normally detect cancer by infusing patients with a glucose preparation and then identifying the body areas where glucose is being consumed or metabolized rapidly.)Ī new agent, gallium-68 dotatate (Netspot ®), recently FDA-approved and available at Roswell Park, can be used as a PET tracer instead of radiolabeled glucose to identify carcinoid tumors even very small lesions significantly better than any currently available imaging. Gallium Ga 68 dotatate injection is used with a PET scan (positron emission tomography) for localization of somatostatin receptor positive neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) in adults and children. Typical positron emission tomography (PET) scans are not effective in detecting carcinoid tumors, because unlike other cancers, NETs do not consume glucose rapidly. Drug information provided by: IBM Micromedex US Brand Name.

It is used with a PET scan to identify possible neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Neuroendocrine Tumor Survivor: Frank's Story Gallium Ga 68 Dotatate is a radiopharmaceutical.

Uses of medication netspot