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Status unknownNCT04154241Updated Nov 6, 2019

Developing a Method Using PET-MR to Improve Staging and Monitoring of Neuroendocrine Tumor

An interventional study of PET/MR scan in Neuroendocrine Tumors, sponsored by Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. Status unknown. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 120 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-11-06.

Sponsored by Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Nov 2019), so the status shown — last known as Not yet recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
50
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 120 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

euroendocrine tumors (NETs) are neoplasms that originate from diffuse neuroendocrine system which consist about 17 types of different neuroendocrine cells. These cells combine properties of nerve cells with properties of endocrine cells, that is they receive neuronal signal and produce hormones.The most common locations for NETs are the lungs and organs of the gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) system, however they can be found in any other organ in the body . Clinically, functional NET cells secrete hormones which cause symptoms such as diarrhea or flushing, however non-functional NET cells also exist posing a challenge in the identification and diagnosis of the disease . Besides surgery to remove the tumor, there are numerous of treatment options for systemic handling of the NETs. These treatments include: somatostatin analogues, interferon, chemotherapy, transarterial (chemo) embolisation, radiofrequency ablation, sunitinib, everolimus and radionuclide targeted therapy. The choice of treatment depends on the correct characterization of the NET, primary tumor location, tumor subtype, grade and stage of the disease . Biomarkers for NETs serve a critical role in the diagnosis stage, where it is highly important to identify the NET type and precise location. Furthermore, selecting the correct biomarkers for monitoring the disease is important to predict response for treatment and allow the choice of the right treatment from the large variety of treatment options. NET biomarkers include circulating biomarkers such as Chromogranin A, Ki67, Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE), 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA) and many others found in blood samples, or in the tumor tissue . Beside the circulating biomarkers, imaging biomarkers plays a central role in diagnosis, staging, treatment selection and follow-up of NETs . Current imaging tools are morphological modalities such as CT, MRI and Ultrasound and molecular imaging. Several types of molecular imaging techniques are performed to characterize NETs: single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 111In-pentetreotide, largely superseded now by positron emission tomography (PET) with 68Ga-labeled somatostatin analogs, is used to identify the somatostatin receptor status.

Read the detailed description

18F-DOPA and 11C-5-HTP are used to evaluate neuroendocrine metabolism . 18-fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) PET is usually a poor indication for NETs since these neoplasms tend to be metabolic inactive, and thus FDG-PET is only used for high grade more aggressive NETs . Only a combination of several biomarkers together can lead to NET description that allows treatment selection and to some extent prediction of treatment success.

In this study the investigators wish to take advantage of the new hybrid PET-MR and use it to find new methods to characterize NETs. Only very few PET-MR studies have been performed with correlation to NETs and they showed the potential of this tool for tumor characterization .

The investigators plan to integrate PET-MR with big data analysis methods to obtain an improved tool for staging, characterization and monitoring NETs.

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Conditions studied

  • Neuroendocrine Tumors

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03

In context

Neuroendocrine Tumors

676 studies on the registry are indexed under Neuroendocrine Tumors; 169 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 50 is above the median of 42 across 464 interventional studies indexed under Neuroendocrine Tumors.

Browse Neuroendocrine Tumors studies →

Lead sponsor

Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 541 studies on the registry; 49 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 120 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

A cohort of patients that were diagnosed with NET using biopsy.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Age \<18.
  2. Pregnant or breast feeding patients.
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
50 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    neuroendocrine tumor Patients

    A cohort of patients that were diagnosed with NET using biopsy.

    Diagnostic Test: PET/MR scan

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testPET/MR scan

    The PET will be performed with (68Ga)-labeled somatostatin analogue since it was proven to be superior to other NET PET tracers in terms of lesion detection and sensitivity \[11\] \[12\]. The 3 tesla magnet of the MRI should allow acquisition of several contrasts within a reasonable time frame. The protocol will include T1 and T2-weighted images, diffusion-weighted images with multiple b values and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. All images will be analyzed with big data tools such as radiomics and texture analysis in order to integrate all image parameters and different contrasts into individual tumor status. Then, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity will be evaluated by correlation of this data collection and analysis method with histological biomarkers (for example, Ki67 level) and treatment results.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Patients who preformed PET/MR.

    The investigators develop new methods for the characterization and monitoring of NETs using the latest state of the art PET-MR technology combined with big data analysis methods in order to obtain a more accurate, specific and sensitive biomarker.

    Time frame: 1 year

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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 6, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04154241
Lead sponsor
Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 6, 2019
Start date
Mar 10, 2020 (estimated)
Primary completion
May 10, 2021 (estimated)
Completion
Mar 10, 2022 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 6, 2019

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is status unknown, as verified in Nov 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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