Transcriptional effects of 177Lu-octreotate therapy using a priming treatment schedule on GOT1 tumor in nude mice

Background 177Lu-octreotate is used for therapy of somatostatin receptor expressing neuroendocrine tumors with promising results, although complete tumor remission is rarely seen. Previous studies on nude mice bearing the human small intestine neuroendocrine tumor, GOT1, have shown that a priming injection of 177Lu-octreotate 24 h before the main injection of 177Lu-octreotate resulted in higher 177Lu concentration in tumor, resulting in increased absorbed dose, volume reduction, and time to regrowth. To our knowledge, the cellular effects of a priming treatment schedule have not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to identify transcriptional changes contributing to the enhanced therapeutic response of GOT1 tumors in nude mice to 177Lu-octreotate therapy with priming, compared with non-curative monotherapy.