Prospective Evaluation of 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT, Octreotide and F-DOPA PET Imaging in Ectopic Cushing Syndrome

Recruiting now · Phase 2

Conditions studied: ACTH, Cushing's Syndrome

In brief

Between 10% and 15% of patients with endogenous hypercortisolism (Cushing syndrome) have ectopic (non-pituitary) production of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) that causes cortisol excess. In approximately 50% of these patients, the tumoral source of ACTH cannot be found initially despite very detailed and extensive imaging, including studies such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and octreotide scan (Octreoscan) using the standard dose of indium- 111 pentetreotide (\[111In-DTPA-D-Phe\]-pentetreotide). The sensitivity and specificity of structurally based imaging studies depends on anatomic alterations and the size of the tumor. In contrast, positron emission tomography (PET) and somatostatin ligand imaging detect pathologic tissue based on physiologic and biochemical processes within the abnormal tissue. This protocol tests the ability of \[18F\]-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-DOPA) PET, and the somatostatin imaging analogue, 68Ga-DOTATATE-PET, to localize the source of ectopic ACTH production.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02019706

Run by

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

People needed

80

Starts

2014-02-12

Expected to finish

2030-12-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-08

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 80. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may not qualify if…

• An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
• Pregnancy or lactation; the radiation associated with PET and CT scans may be harmful to a developing fetus. Likewise the ingestion of radionuclides in breast milk has an unknown risk to an infant.
• Evidence of severe active infection
• Clinically significantly impaired cardiovascular function, abnormal coagulation in the absence of medically-indicated treatment (PT and PTT elevated by 30% above the normal values), hematopoietic (hematocrit less than 30%, hemoglobin below 10 g/dl, white count below 3000 K/UL, and platelets below 100,000 K/mm\^3), hepatic (liver enzymes elevated by 4-fold above normal values), or renal function (plasma creatinine level over 2.1).
• Based on the clinical judgment of the attending physician, other medical problems may prompt exclusion.
• Body weight over 136 kg, which is the limit for the tables used in the scanning areas.
• Combined blood withdrawal during the six weeks preceding the study greater than 450 ml.
• Subjects who previously underwent ten or more F-DOPA PET/CT scans and ten or more DOTATATE scans.

Where it is running

• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center — Bethesda, Maryland, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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