Prospective phase II trial of [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-E[c(RGDyK)]2 PET/CT imaging of integrin αvβ3 for prognostication in patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms

Abstract

Integrin αvβ3, a subtype of the arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) recognizing cell surface integrins, is upregulated on endothelial cells during angiogenesis and on tumor cells. Due to involvement in tumor growth, invasiveness/metastases, and angiogenesis, integrin αvβ3 is an attractive target in cancers. In this study we applied 68Ga-NODAGA-E[c(RGDyK)]2 for imaging of integrin αvβ3 in patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN) and its potential use for prognostication. We hypothesized that 68Ga-NODAGA-E[c(RGDyK)]2 PET/CT would show tumor lesion uptake and that higher tumor lesion uptake was associated with a poorer prognosis.