A novel somatostatin-receptor (SSTR) targeting peptide — 18F-SiTATE — has provided excellent imaging in meningioma patients, identifying bone involvement and lesions previously undetected on standard morphological imaging. The PET imaging agent, 18F-SiTATE, has a longer half-life and can be produced in large quantities by a cyclotron, which offers significant logistical advantages over the 68Ga-labeled ligands currently used in meningioma imaging.
Meningiomas account for nearly one-third of all brain tumors. Most meningiomas (located in the primary central nervous system) are not cancerous but can cause severe side effects, such as changes in vision, headaches, and memory loss.
The study included 86 patients with known or suspected meningiomas undergoing 18F-SiTATE PET/CT. The researchers evaluated the uptake intensity of meningiomas, healthy organs, and non-meningioma lesions. Bone involvement of meningiomas was also assessed on PET and compared to morphological imaging (CT/MRI). Uptake of 18F-SiTATE PET/CT was significantly higher in meningiomas compared to healthy organs and non-meningioma lesions.
The study shows that the PET imaging agent, 18F-SiTATE PET/CT, has high feasibility for detecting meningiomas, including bone involvement. The study is significant since bone involvement has a major impact on surgery and radiotherapy planning for meningioma patients, and it is hard to assess using standard morphological imaging.