Prevalence and Clinical Correlations of Somatostatin Receptor-2 (SSTR2) Expression in Neuroblastoma.

Alternative radiolabeled, targeted agents are being investigated for children with relapsed neuroblastoma (NB) who do not respond to I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) therapy. (DOTA-Tyr)-octreotate targets somatostatin receptors particularly which are expressed on NB cells. We investigated expression in NB tumors (36 high-risk [HR]; 33 non-HR patients) and correlated duanyu1942R2 levels with clinical features, norepinephrine transporter (NET) expression, and MIBG avidity. duanyu1942R2 and NET immunohistochemistry scores (0 to 3) were calculated on biopsies using digital image analysis based on staining intensity and distribution. Clinical data were correlated with duanyu1942R2 expression. Median duanyu1942R2 score for 69 patients was 1.31 (0.26 to 2.55). Non-HR NB was associated with a higher duanyu1942R2 score (P=0.032). The duanyu1942R2 expression did not correlate with age, International Neuroblastoma Staging System (INSS) stage, MYCN amplification and histology. Higher duanyu1942R2 scores were observed in MIBG-avid versus MIBG-nonavid NB. duanyu1942R2 score was not significantly associated with NET score (r=-0.062, P=0.62). Twenty-six patients who relapsed or progressed had a median duanyu1942R2 score of 1.33 (0.26 to 2.55). Patients with NB including relapsed or progressive disease showed duanyu1942R2 expression at diagnosis, suggesting they could be candidates for radiolabeled-DOTA-conjugated peptide imaging or therapy.

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