• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.11-27
• /
• 1999

Peptide imaging is a new diagnostic modality in nuclear medicine. $^{111}In$-pentetreotide ($Octreoscan^R$) is the first commercially available peptide radiopharmaceutical. This review article presents the results of previous studies using $^{111}In$-pentetreotide for several disease states, including neuroendocrine tumors, breast cancer and malignant lymphoma. The use of hand-held probe during surgery and the preliminary results of radiotherapy using radiolabeled somatostatin analogues are also reviewed. It can be concluded that somatostatin receptor scintigraphy is a promising diagnostic tool for localizing primary tumors that express receptors for somatostatin, staging secondary spread of tumor tissue, following up after therapy and identifying patients who may benefit from therapy with unlabelled or radiolabeled octreotide. The somatostatin receptor imaging will stimulate the development of new radiopharmaceuticals for other receptors and enhance the therapeutic use of radiolabeled peptides.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.537-542
• /
• 1999

In patient with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, it is difficult to localize gastrinoma because the tumor is frequently small and multiple. However, accurate localization of the tumor is important for the treatment Among various imaging modalities, somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) has been recognized to be the most sensitive tool for the detection of neuroendocrine tumors such as gastrinomas based on the presence of high-affinity binding sites for somatostatin. Recently, we experienced a case of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome caused by gastrinomas which was localized by SRS. This is the first case report of gastrinoma detected by SRS in Korea. SRS can facilitate tumor detection in patient with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and should be considered as the first-line diagnostic method in the early course of the disease.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.51-57
• /
• 2016

The epidemiology of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNENs) in Asia has been clarified through epidemiological studies, including one conducted in Japan, and subsequently another in South Korea. As endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has become more widely accessible, endoscopic ultrasound-fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has been performed in pancreatic tumors for which the clinical course was only monitored previously. This has enabled accurate diagnosis of pancreatic tumors based on the 2010 WHO classification; as a result, the number of patients with an accurate diagnosis has increased. Although surgery has been the standard therapy for PNENs, new treatment options have become available in Japan for the treatment of advanced or inoperable PNENs; of particular note is the recent introduction of molecular target drugs (such as everolimus and sunitinib) and streptozocin. Treatment for progressive PNENs needs to be selected for each patient with consideration of the performance status, degree of tumor differentiation, tumor mass, and proliferation rate. Somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-2 is expressed in many patients with neuroendocrine tumor. Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS), which can visualize SSTR-2 expression, has been approved in Japan. The SRS will be a useful diagnostic tool for locating neuroendocrine neoplasms, detecting distant metastasis, and evaluating therapy outcomes. In this manuscript, we review the latest diagnostic methods and treatments for PNENs.