DOTA-TATE / DOTA-NOC PET/CT
68Ga-DOTA-TATE / TOC / NOC≈ 15 min on the scannerAdvanced molecular study
In simple words
Neuroendocrine tumours are often small and grow slowly, so a routine CT can miss them completely. But their cells are studded with receptors for a hormone called somatostatin. DOTA-TATE is a lookalike of that hormone carrying a gallium-68 tag, so it fastens on to these tumours and makes them glow — sometimes revealing a primary tumour that has been hunted for years.
Questions this scan answers
- Where is the neuroendocrine tumour, and has it spread?
- My symptoms suggest a hormone-producing tumour but nothing shows on CT — where is it?
- Would I respond to PRRT (Lu-177 DOTA-TATE) therapy?
The Prismaa difference
NET deposits are frequently sub-centimetre and sit in the mesentery among bowel loops. Higher spatial resolution and the sharper contrast of digital PET are what separate a confidently reported lesion from an equivocal one.
Usually recommended for
- Confirmed or suspected neuroendocrine tumour (NET) of gut, pancreas or lung
- Carcinoid syndrome — flushing, chronic diarrhoea, wheezing
- Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma
- Meningioma planning, and unknown-primary NET
How to prepare
- Fasting is not required.
- If you are on long-acting octreotide/lanreotide injections, tell us — the scan is usually timed just before your next dose.
- Short-acting octreotide is normally stopped 24 hours before.
- Carry your chromogranin-A levels and previous scans.
Book this scan, or ask us whether it is the right one
We are happy to discuss the request with your treating doctor before you commit to an appointment.