# Somatostatin receptor PET (68Ga/64Cu-DOTATATE)

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/sstr-pet/  
OnCo record `sstr-pet` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A PET scan using a radioactive hormone mimic that lights up neuroendocrine tumours and shows whether the matching radioactive treatment will work.

## Summary

68Ga-DOTATATE (Netspot, 2016), 68Ga-DOTATOC (2019) and 64Cu-DOTATATE (Detectnet, 2020) replaced 111In-octreotide scintigraphy, with far higher sensitivity for small lesions and bone disease. Mandatory for staging, for selecting patients for PRRT (Krenning score ≥3 or uptake above liver), and for detecting occult primaries. FDG PET complements it in high-grade or dedifferentiated disease ('flip-flop' pattern).

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: standard-of-care
- Last checked: 2026-09-07
- Principle: Radiolabelled somatostatin analogue binds SSTR2 on tumour cells; positron emission imaged by PET/CT.
- Since: 2016
- Strengths: Whole-body receptor map; Theranostic gatekeeper for 177Lu-DOTATATE; Changes management in ~40% of patients versus conventional imaging
- Limitations: Physiologic uptake in pancreas uncinate, spleen, pituitary; Poor sensitivity in SSTR-negative high-grade disease; 68Ga generator supply and short half-life

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOTA-TATE
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOTA-TATE

## Connected records

- cancers: [Esthesioneuroblastoma (olfactory neuroblastoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/esthesioneuroblastoma/), [Extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/extrapulmonary-nec/), [Grade 3 well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumour](https://onco.cc/cancers/grade-3-net/), [Hereditary pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (SDHx, VHL, RET, NF1, MAX and TMEM127)](https://onco.cc/cancers/hereditary-ppgl/), [Lung neuroendocrine tumours (typical and atypical carcinoid)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-net/), [Metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma](https://onco.cc/cancers/metastatic-ppgl/), [Multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes (MEN1, MEN2, MEN4)](https://onco.cc/cancers/multiple-endocrine-neoplasia/), [Neuroendocrine tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroendocrine/), [Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic-net/), [Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL)](https://onco.cc/cancers/pheochromocytoma-paraganglioma/), [Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/small-intestinal-net/), [Small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/sclc/)
- fronts: [Imaging](https://onco.cc/fronts/imaging/), [Radiopharmaceuticals & Theranostics](https://onco.cc/fronts/radiopharma/)
- technologies: [Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT)](https://onco.cc/technologies/prrt/), [PET (positron emission tomography)](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet/), [PET/CT](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet-ct/), [Radionuclide generators and cold kits](https://onco.cc/technologies/radionuclide-generators-kits/)
- targets: [Somatostatin receptor 2](https://onco.cc/targets/sstr2/)
- drugs: [Gallium-68 DOTATATE (and Cu-64 DOTATATE)](https://onco.cc/drugs/ga68-dotatate/), [Lutetium-177 dotatate](https://onco.cc/drugs/lutathera/)
- terms: [Theranostics](https://onco.cc/terms/theranostics/)
- trials: [Dual 64Cu-DOTATATE and 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging of Patients With Neuroendocrine Neoplasms](https://onco.cc/trials/nct05709171/), [Imaging of Patients With Known or Suspected Somatostatin Receptor Positive Neuroendocrine Tumors Using Cu64-DOTATATE](https://onco.cc/trials/nct03673943/)
- pairings: [SSTR PET → PRRT](https://onco.cc/pairings/sstr-pet-to-prrt/)
- ideas: [When the blood test is positive, hunt for the lesion with sensitive imaging](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio2-localise-the-mrd/)
- companies: [Advanced Accelerator Applications (Novartis)](https://onco.cc/companies/advanced-accelerator-applications/)

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