PET offers more precise screening method to select candidates for radionuclide therapy

A new study published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine evaluated the role of 68Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in selecting neuroendocrine tumor patients who may benefit from peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). Although historically guided by a Krenning score based on 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy, researchers found that Krenning scores based on PET/CT imaging were significantly higher and could more accurately detect patients eligible for PRRT. This is particularly relevant for patients with lesions of less than two centimeters, as the study showed that Krenning scores for these small-volume tumors were markedly higher when informed by PET/CT compared to 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy and could qualify the patients for PRRT when they would otherwise have been ineligible.