Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy with 90Y-DOTATOC in recurrent meningioma

Purpose: Meningiomas are generally benign and in most cases surgery is curative. However, for high-grade histotypes or partially resected tumours, recurrence is fairly common. External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is usually given in such cases but is not always effective. We assessed peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) using 90Y-DOTATOC in a group of patients with meningioma recurring after standard treatments in all of whom somatostatin receptors were strongly expressed on meningioma cell surfaces. Methods: Twenty-nine patients with scintigraphically proven somatostatin subtype 2 receptor-positive meningiomas were enrolled: 14 had benign (grade I), 9 had atypical (grade II) and 6 had malignant (grade III) disease. Patients received intravenous 90Y-DOTATOC for 2-6 cycles for a cumulative dose in the range of 5-15 GBq. Clinical and neuroradiological evaluations were performed at baseline, during and after PRRT. Results: The treatment was well tolerated in all patients. MRI 3 months after treatment completion showed disease stabilization in 19 of 29 patients (66%) and progressive disease in the remaining 10 (34%). Better results were obtained in patients with grade I meningioma than in those with grade II-III, with median time to progression (from beginning PRRT) of 61 months in the low-grade group and 13 months in the high-grade group. Conclusion: PRRT with 90Y-DOTATOC can interfere with the growth of meningiomas. The adjuvant role of this treatment, soon after surgery, especially in atypical and malignant histotypes, deserves further investigation. © 2009 Springer-Verlag

Long-term results of PRRT in advanced bronchopulmonary carcinoid

Purpose: Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours (NET) has been explored for almost two decades, but there are still few trials that have exclusively investigated well-differentiated and moderately differentiated NET arising from the respiratory tree. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the outcome in patients affected by bronchopulmonary carcinoid (BPC) following PRRT. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 114 patients with advanced stage BPC consecutively treated with PRRT at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, from 1997 to 2012 and followed until October 2014. The objective responses, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were rated, and three different PRRT protocols (90Y-DOTATOC vs. 177Lu-DOTATATE vs. 90Y-DOTATOC + 177Lu-DOTATATE) were compared with regard to their efficacy and tolerability. Results: The median OS (evaluated in 94 of the 114 patients) was 58.8 months. The median PFS was 28.0 months. The 177Lu-DOTATATE protocol resulted in the highest 5-year OS (61.4 %). Morphological responses (partial responses + minor responses) were obtained in 26.5 % of the cohort and were associated with longer OS and PFS. The 90Y-DOTATOC + 177Lu-DOTATATE protocol provided the highest response rate (38.1 %). Adverse events were mild in the majority of patients. However, haematological toxicity negatively affected survival. No severe (grade 3/4) serum creatinine increase was observed. Patients treated with 90Y-DOTATOC alone more frequently showed a mild/moderate decrease in renal function. In patients treated with chemotherapy before PRRT had a shorter OS and PFS, and a higher risk of developing nephrotoxicity. Conclusion: In a large cohort of patients with advanced BPC treated in a â\u80\u9creal-worldâ\u80\u9d scenario and followed up for a median of 45.1 months (range 2 â\u80\u93 191 months), PRRT proved to be promising in prolonging survival and delaying disease progression. Despite the potential selection biases, considering the risk-benefit ratio, 177Lu-DOTATATE monotherapy seems the best option for PRRT. Our results indicate that the use of PRRT in earlier stages of the disease could provide a more favorable outcome

Neoadjuvant therapy in locally advanced breast cancer : 99mTc-MIBI mammoscintigraphy is not a reliable technique to predict therapy response

Mammoscintigraphy (MMS) has been indicated as a useful tool in predicting response to therapy in cancer. However, contrasting results have been reported in the literature for breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to explore the role of MMS in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients. Fifty-one patients affected by LABC and scheduled for neoadjuvant therapy were enrolled. Breast tumor status was evaluated at baseline, during therapy and at the completion of therapy by radiological techniques and by MMS. Pre-therapy (MMS1) and post-therapy MIBI (2-methoxyisobutilysonitrile) images (MMS2-3) were analyzed. MMS1 was performed in all pts, 41 carried out MMS2 and 27 had MMS3. Tumor uptake and washout in MMS1 did not show any correlation with the therapy response. The absence of any association between tumor uptake and washout with respect to therapy response suggests that MMS is not a reliable technique to predict therapy response in LABC