Patient Release and Instructions for Lutetium Dotatate Radiopharmaceutical Therapy

Abstract

Lutetium Dotatate radiopharmaceutical therapy (Lutathera) was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2018 and is used to treat somatostatin receptor positive neuroendocrine tumors. With all new radiopharmaceutical therapies, the radiation exposure to members of the public from the patient who received the therapy must be within regulatory limits and safe. If the patient will expose members of the public to too much radiation, the therapy must be performed on an inpatient basis. This paper shows that the administration of Lutathera can be done on an outpatient basis and provides safety and travel restrictions that should be communicated to the patient prior to leaving. The guidance presented herein serves as a basis for medical institutions looking to use Lutathera to treat patients.