Radio-guided surgery in neuroendocrine tumors

Abstract

The majority of Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) express somatostatin (SS) receptors, and thus can be successfully targeted with radiolabeled SS analogs in vivo. Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) with 111In-DTPA Octreotide is the main imaging technique for evaluation of NETs. Radio-guided surgery for NETs, therefore, primarily utilizes 111In-DTPA Octreotide tumor localization mechanism and kinetics. Somatostatin analog radiopharmacy continues to evolve to include the development of more selective and higher affinity analogs and PET tracers. These changes are expected to open new venues for radio-guided surgery technology. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.