64Cu-SARTATE Improves Tumor Detection in GEP-NETs

Udhayvir Singh Grewal, MD Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University | Neena Vijayvergia, MD Fox Chase Cancer Center

Key Points

• 64Cu-SARTATE demonstrated improved lesion detection in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) compared with conventional PET/CT imaging agents.

• More sensitive imaging with 64Cu-SARTATE may identify additional patients who could benefit from targeted therapies.

• Further studies are needed to determine if 64Cu-SARTATE will improve treatment outcomes and how it will be implemented in clinical practice.

DISCO Trial Presentation at ASCO GI 2026

At the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI), gastrointestinal medical oncologists, Udhayvir Grewal, MBBS, of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, and Neena Vijayvergia, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, discussed the the phase 2 DISCO trial on ⁶⁴Cu-SARTATE, a novel isotope for PET/CT scans in patients with neuroendocrine cancer.

The study compared ⁶⁴Cu-SARTATE PET/CT imaging with standard ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in patients with known or suspected GEP-NETs. According to the ASCO GI presentation, ⁶⁴Cu-SARTATE identified a mean of 441 foci while ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE identified 227. For 122 discordant foci with evaluable standard of truth by biopsy or follow-up imaging, ⁶⁴Cu-SARTATE showed a significant improvement in sensitivity at 94.7% (95% CI, 65.1-99.5) versus ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE at 5.4% (95% CI, 0.5-34.9; P < .001). 

The greater sensitivity of ⁶⁴Cu-SARTATE PET/CT may improve patient selection for somatostatin receptor-targeting therapies like peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, although more studies are ultimately needed to determine how ⁶⁴Cu-SARTATE will be implemented in clinical practice, said Dr. Vijayvergia.