Depreotide
The lung-nodule scan that matched PET in one trial and added little to CT in another
Depreotide is a small synthetic peptide that binds somatostatin receptors. Labelled with technetium-99m, it was approved in the US in 1999 as NeoTect to help doctors judge whether a lung nodule was likely to be cancer using a SPECT scan. It has since been discontinued, overtaken by CT and FDG-PET.
What is it?
A solitary lung nodule found on a scan is a common clinical puzzle: most are benign, some are early cancers. Before PET scanning was widespread, depreotide offered a way to look for somatostatin receptors, which many lung cancers carry, using a cheaper gamma camera.
In a European multicentre trial in 118 people with nodules up to 3 cm, the scan picked up 65 of 73 cancers and correctly cleared 30 of 45 benign lesions, an accuracy of 81%, and performed the same as FDG-PET in the 29 who had both. Later studies were less encouraging: a 140-patient comparison found it was not better than CT and too insensitive for indeterminate lesions.
The drug is now discontinued in the US. Its approach lives on in the gallium-68 and copper-64 somatostatin tracers used for neuroendocrine tumours, covered in our radiopharmaceuticals guide.
At a Glance
Every value in this table is printed from the Grey Peptides dataset, the same record the compound explorer and comparison tool read, so the three can never disagree.
Educational information, not medical advice. The doses on this page come from approved labels, published studies and, where no study exists, amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
Published Research
Studies whose titles name depreotide, read from their PubMed abstracts on October 4, 2026.
European multicentre trial
In 118 patients with solitary lung nodules of 3 cm or less, Tc-99m depreotide SPECT had 89% sensitivity, 67% specificity and 81% accuracy; in 29 who also had FDG-PET, both scans performed identically (90%, 67%, 83%).
Compared with CT
In 140 participants, CT had 97% sensitivity and 30% specificity; depreotide SPECT 94% and 58%. For indeterminate lesions its sensitivity was 71%, judged too low, and it did not add to the work-up beyond CT.
Against FDG-PET
In 29 patients with indeterminate lung lesions, FDG-PET detected all 20 cancers; depreotide SPECT detected 17, missing a carcinoid and two adenocarcinomas.
Lymph-node staging
In 61 patients with potentially operable non-small-cell lung cancer, visual reading had high sensitivity (100% hilar, 94% mediastinal) but low specificity (43% and 59%) against histology.
Uptake and receptor expression
Among 19 patients with proven non-small-cell lung cancer, every tumour took up depreotide and every one expressed somatostatin receptor 2 on immunohistochemistry.
Staging lung cancer
In 53 patients with suspected lung cancer given 740 MBq, depreotide did not change staging in small-cell lung cancer; in non-small-cell cancer with doubtful CT findings it was the only reliable non-invasive staging method in 2 of 31 cases.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
The abstracts read do not report adverse events.
Contraindications & Cautions
The product is discontinued.
Legal Status
Approved in 1999, now discontinued.
Frequently Asked Questions
?What was depreotide used for?
Labelled with technetium-99m, it was used for SPECT scans to help judge whether a solitary lung nodule was likely to be cancer.
?Is depreotide still available?
No. Its US product, the NeoTect kit, is listed as discontinued in Drugs@FDA.
?How accurate was it?
In a European multicentre trial it detected 89% of cancers and correctly cleared 67% of benign nodules, matching FDG-PET in a subgroup; a later study found it added little to CT.
?How does it relate to Lutathera?
Both use peptides that bind somatostatin receptors; depreotide carried an imaging isotope, Lutathera carries a treatment isotope.
References
- [other] PubChem CID 9898619, Depreotide: formula C65H96N16O12S2, molecular weight 1357.7. Read October 4, 2026. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/9898619
- [fda] openFDA Drugs@FDA: NDA 021012, NEO TECT KIT (technetium Tc-99m depreotide), original approval August 3, 1999, supplement April 11, 2001; marketing status discontinued. Read October 4, 2026.
- [clinical-trial] Naalsund A, et al. "The solitary pulmonary nodule--is it malignant or benign? Diagnostic performance of Tc-depreotide SPECT." Respiration, 2006;73(5):634-41. PMID: 16679755.
- [pubmed] Harders SW, et al. "Limited value of ⁹⁹mTc depreotide single photon emission CT compared with CT for the evaluation of pulmonary lesions." Br J Radiol, 2012;85(1015):e307-13. PMID: 22745210.
- [pubmed] Ferran N, et al. "Characterization of radiologically indeterminate lung lesions: 99mTc-depreotide SPECT versus 18F-FDG PET." Nucl Med Commun, 2006;27(6):507-14. PMID: 16710105.
- [pubmed] Apostolopoulos DJ, et al. "Tc-99m depreotide SPECT/CT for lymph node staging of non-small-cell lung cancer." Ann Nucl Med, 2014;28(5):463-71. PMID: 24668640.
- [pubmed] Herlin G, et al. "Quantitative assessment of 99mTc-depreotide uptake in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: immunohistochemical correlations." Acta Radiol, 2009;50(8):902-8. PMID: 19707908.
- [pubmed] Karathanos E, et al. "Contribution of (99m)Tc-depreotide (Neospect) scintigraphy in lung cancer staging." J BUON, 2010;15(1):147-52. PMID: 20414943.
Sources & Citations
Studies from their PubMed abstracts, October 4, 2026; approval history from openFDA Drugs@FDA the same day.
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Consult a licensed healthcare provider before making health decisions.