Neuroendocrine tumours (NET) are relatively rare
neoplasms affecting principally the gastroenteropancreatic tract, but with potential ubiquitary location, as the neural crest cells, origin of this group of tumours, are dispersed in various organs and tissues. After the discovery of
somatostatin receptors (SSTR) over-expression in this group of
neoplasms, NET management has significantly improved. This is witnessed by the development of new tracers in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of NETs belonging to the family of radio-labelled
somatostatin analogues, that significantly improved the accuracy of diagnosis and, more recently, opened the way to the innovative targeted
radionuclide therapies. First introduced in clinical application in 2005,
68Ga-DOTANOC (one of the most used radio-labelled
somatostatin analog for PET imaging) has revealed promising results in preliminary studies for the main clinical indications: staging NET; suspected NET of unknown primary; follow-up, restaging and, finally, for pre- and post-treatment evaluation of receptor
radionuclide therapies. Due to its technically simple production, favourable biodistribution, biokinetics, dosimetry and high affinity for SSTR and thanks to the possibility of hybrid scans PET/computed tomography (CT) with better spatial resolution and localisation of the lesions,
68Ga-DOTANOC can advance as the new gold standard for imaging in neuroendocrine tumours.