Indications of Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT) in Gastroenteropancreatic and Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Tumors: An Updated Review

Radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumors is a form of systemic radiotherapy that allows the administration of targeted radionuclides into tumor cells that express a large quantity of somatostatin receptors. The two most commonly used radio-peptides for radionuclide therapy in neuroendocrine tumors are Y-90-DOTATOC and Lu-177-DOTATATE. Radio-peptides have been used for several years in the treatment of advanced neuroendocrine tumors. Recently, the randomized Phase III study NETTER-1 compared(177)Lu-DOTATATE versus high-dose (double-dose) octreotide LAR in patients with metastatic midgut neuroendocrine tumors, and demonstrated its efficacy in this setting. Strong signals in favor of efficiency seem to exist for other tumors, in particular for pancreatic and pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors. This focus on radionuclide therapy in gastroenteropancreatic and pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors addresses the treatment modalities, the validated and potential indications, and the safety of the therapy.

Automated summary

Radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumors, targeting tumor cells with a large quantity of somatostatin receptors, is effective and has shown significant efficacy in metastatic midgut neuroendocrine tumors. Besides midgut tumors, pancreatic and pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors also seem to benefit from this treatment approach.