Head-to-Head Comparison of⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 and⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in Patients with Metastatic, Well-Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors: Interim Analysis of a Prospective Bicenter Study

Abstract

The current study aimed to compare ⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-Cpa-cyclo(d-Cys-amino-Phe-hydroorotic acid-d-4-amino-Phe(carbamoyl)-Lys-Thr-Cys)-d-Tyr-NH₂ (JR11) and ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in patients with metastatic, well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors. <b>Methods:</b> A prospective bicenter study aimed at enrolling 100 patients with histologically proven, metastatic or unresectable, well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors was conducted. The first 48 patients represented the study cohort. Each patient received ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE on the first day and ⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 on the second day. Whole-body PET/CT scans were performed at 40–60 min after injection. Normal-organ uptake, lesion numbers, lesion uptake, and sensitivity were compared. The potential impact on clinical management was also determined. <b>Results:</b> Overall, ⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 demonstrated lower background uptake in normal organs. Compared with ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE, ⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 detected significantly more liver lesions (673 vs. 584, <i>P</i> = 0.002). The target-to-background ratio of liver lesions was significantly higher on ⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 (6.4 ± 8.7 vs. 3.1 ±2.6, <i>P</i> = 0.000). Comparable uptake was observed for primary tumors, bone lesions, and lymph node metastases. In total, 180 lesions were detected on conventional imaging in 15 patients; 165 and 139 lesions of them were positive on ⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 and ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE, leading to a sensitivity of 91.7% and 77.2%, respectively. In 14.5% (7/48) of patients, ⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 PET might have a potential impact on clinical management. <b>Conclusion:</b>⁶⁸Ga-NODAGA-JR11 shows better sensitivity and a higher target-to-background ratio than ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE. The detection of more lesions by the antagonist may have a potential impact on clinical management in a subgroup of patients.

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