Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences Performs Region's First '68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT Scan' for Neuroendocrine Tumor Diagnosis

Highly Accurate Nuclear Medicine Imaging for Rare Tumor Diagnosis and Recurrence Assessment
...Laying the Foundation for Expanding Radiopharmaceutical Therapies

Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (Director: Lee Changhoon) recently performed the '68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT scan' for the first time in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions to diagnose neuroendocrine tumors, assess treatment response, and confirm recurrence.

The patient is receiving an injection for the 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET-CT scan used to diagnose neuroendocrine tumors. Photo by Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences

This scan is a nuclear medicine imaging test that utilized 68Ga-DOTA-TOC produced directly at the institute's GMP radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility on the second basement floor. It is regarded as a highly useful technology for the precise diagnosis and staging of neuroendocrine tumors that occur in the stomach, intestines, pancreas, and other organs.

68Ga-DOTA-TOC binds to somatostatin receptors (SSTR) present on the surface of tumor cells, enabling the visualization of neuroendocrine tumors that highly express these receptors. This allows for precise identification of the tumor's location, stage, and extent, and it supplements the diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumors that are difficult to detect with conventional 18F-FDG PET/CT scans.

This scan boasts a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 96%, demonstrating high diagnostic accuracy. It is also rated superior in resolution and performance compared to the existing 111In-Octreotide scan.

Furthermore, this imaging test can be effectively used in the future for selecting candidates and evaluating treatment response for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, such as Lutathera (177Lu-DOTA-TATE), a treatment for neuroendocrine tumors. It is expected to serve as an important foundation for expanding radiopharmaceutical therapies at the institute.

Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences introduced the 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT scan for prostate cancer diagnosis for the first time in the Dongnam region in September last year, and in May this year, began Pluvicto therapy for the first time outside the Seoul metropolitan area. With the introduction of the 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT scan, the institute is being credited with elevating the regional standard of care for the diagnosis and treatment of rare tumors, paving the way for the era of precision and personalized medicine.