Targeted Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy With 177Lu-DOTATATE Alters Joints Inflammation

High and frequent expression of somatostatin receptors in differentiated neuroendocrine neoplasms has paved the way for receptor-based, targeted peptide receptor radionuclide therapy especially for nonoperable or metastatic disease. Besides tumors, radiation, in one form or another, has been tested to treat inflammatory disease as well, and this goes back to the early 1990s when the first case of pneumonia treated with radiation showed complete resolution. Currently, radiotracers help in not only in vivo inflammation detection, characterization, and staging but also, and more importantly, for selection of treatment in individual patients. The same concept could be applied to treatment of infection, by coupling the radioisotopes to ligands that target sterile or nonsterile inflammation. In our case, targeted peptide receptor radionuclide therapy showed remarkable resolution of inflammatory joint disease.