Department of Nuclear Medicine, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Jan, 2014
Radiolabeled somatostatin analogues are routinely used for the detection of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), exploiting the expression of somatostatin-receptor subtypes on the cell membrane. Because of the heterogeneity of the origin of these tumors, the performance of radiolabeled somatostatin analogues in certain types of NETs is limited due to the low incidence or low levels of receptor expression. In this review, the most recent developments and in vitro and in vivo characterization of these radiolabeled peptide analogues are discussed.