Clinical applications of Gallium-68

Gallium-68 is a positron-emitting radioisotope that is produced from a Ge-68/Ga-68 generator. As such it is conveniently used, decoupling radiopharmacies from the need for a cyclotron on site. Gallium-68-labeled peptides have been recognized as a new class of radiopharmaceuticals showing fast target localization and blood clearance. Ga-68-DOTATOC, Ga-8-DOTATATE, Ga-68-DOTANOC, are the most prominent radiopharmaceuticals currently in use for imaging and differentiating lesions of various somatostatin receptor subtypes, overexpressed in many neuroendocrine tumors. There has been a tremendous increase in the number of clinical studies with Ga-68 over the past few years around the world, including within the United States. An estimated similar to 10,000 scans are being performed yearly in Europe at about 100 centers utilizing Ga-68-labeled somatostatin analogs within clinical trials. Two academic sites within the US have also begun to undertake human studies. This review will focus on the clinical experience of selected, well-established and recently applied Ga-68-labeled imaging agents used in nuclear medicine. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.