title: Is there a role for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy in medullary thyroid cancer?
abstract: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare but potentially life-threatening disease with limited therapeutic options. As a neuroendocrine tumor, MTC expresses somatostatin receptors, and therefore, somatostatin-labeled radiopharmaceuticals could be used to treat patients with MTC.
  
  
  
  The aims of this study were to evaluate tumor shrinkage after Lu-DOTATATE treatment, to analyze the impact on quality of life as accessed by the SF-36 questionnaire, and to demonstrate a possible prognostic role for In-DTPA-octreotide uptake in patients with MTC.
  
  
  
  Patients with progressive MTC underwent evaluation using In-DTPA-octreotide. Patients who demonstrated In-DTPA-octreotide uptake were treated with 4 cycles of 200 mCi of Lu-DOTATATE and were evaluated using CT scans over 8 to 12 months of treatment.
  
  
  
  Of the 16 patients initially enrolled, 9 (56.25%) had lesions that were observed in the In-DTPA-octreotide scans and were eligible for therapy with Lu-DOTATATE. Three patients had a partial response, 3 patients were classified as having stable disease and, 1 patient had a progressive disease. All responders indicated improvement in quality of life 6 to 12 months after therapy.
  
  
  
  Treatment with Lu-DOTATATE seems to be an alternative therapy for somatostatin receptor-positive tumors, with very mild adverse effects and quality-of-life improvement, at least during a short-term period. Further studies are needed to determine long-term benefits and to identify which patients are more likely to respond to this modality of therapy.
authors.affiliation: From the *Endocrinology Service, and †Nuclear Medicine Service, Instituto Nacional de Câncer; ‡Endocrinology Service, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; §Radiology Service, and ∥Oncology Service, Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vaisman
authors.forename: Paulo Henrique
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Rosado de Castro
authors.forename: Flavia Paiva Proença Lobo
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Daniel Barretto
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Kendler
authors.forename: Cencita H N
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.forename: Daniel Alves
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Bulzico
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Carvalho Leal
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vilhena
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaisman
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Corbo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018278:Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015282:Octreotide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D011788:Quality of Life; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: C497824:111In-octreotide, DTPA(0)-; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D004369:Pentetic Acid; C447941:lutetium Lu 177 dotatate; D015282:Octreotide