Eric Liu, M.D., assistant professor of Surgery and Radiology and Radiological Sciences, is the principal investigator at Vanderbilt for the trial, dubbed NETTER-1.
“Neuroendocrine tumors are a difficult type of cancer to take care of because they have unusual traits,” Liu said. “Not only do these tumors grow but they also secrete hormones, which can create lots of symptoms. They can be quite difficult to diagnose and require a multi-modal approach to care.”
For the current trial, Liu is collaborating with Ronald Walker, M.D., professor of Clinical Radiology and Radiological Sciences, who spearheaded previous research on the technology being used.
Walker and colleagues helped develop and test the Gallium-68 DOTATATE compound for PET/CT scan, which provides higher resolution images for diagnosing neuroendocrine tumors. Vanderbilt was the first institution in the United States to use the Gallium-68 PET/CT scan to detect neuroendocrine tumors.
“Neuroendocrine tumors have a molecule called somatostatin receptor on the surface of their cells,” said Walker. “DOTATATE sticks to it and is taken into the cell. The DOTATATE has the gallium on it so it lights up the cancer cells like a light bulb on our scans.”
For the new clinical trial, physicians are using the same DOTATATE to target the tumors by changing the gallium for the radioactive Lutetium-177 to deliver a lethal dose of radiation directly to the tumor.
Walker describes this treatment combination as … “a molecule-sized smart bomb that seeks out these cells.
