Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy for bronchial carcinoid follow-up.
OBJECTIVE
Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) has been used to diagnose bronchial carcinoids (BC) and is a valuable tool for accurate staging of BC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of SRS in restaging BC and following patients after treatment.


METHODS
Thirty-one patients (18 male, 13 female) with confirmed BC who were referred during the last 7 years were included. Patients were examined via chest radiograph (12 studies), chest or abdominal computed tomography (CT; 28 scans), chest magnetic resonance imaging (2 scans), and liver ultrasound (5 scans).


RESULTS
Overall, in 22 patients (71%), SRS confirmed the data obtained by other diagnostic procedures (16 negative and 6 positive findings). In 6 patients, SRS showed focal lesions not previously demonstrated. In 2 patients, SRS resolved uncertain findings of CT. In 1 patient, SRS showed fewer lesions compared with CT. In 8 of 31 patients, important diagnostic information obtained by SRS was not revealed by any other imaging procedure.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that SRS is a reliable, noninvasive method that could be considered the principal follow-up procedure in patients with BC.
Fanti
Stefano
S
Nuclear Medicine Unit, Ploivlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Università degli Studi, Bologna, Italy. fanti@orsola-malpighi.med.unibo.it
Farsad
Mohsen
M
Battista
Giuseppe
G
Monetti
Francesco
F
Montini
Gian Carlo
GC
Chiti
Arturo
A
Savelli
Giordano
G
Petrella
Francesco
F
Bini
Alessandro
A
Nanni
Cristina
C
Romeo
Annadina
A
Franchi
Roberto
R
Bombardieri
Emilio
E
Canini
Romeo
R
Monetti
Nino
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods; D015282:Octreotide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin; C071632:SDZ 215-811; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D015282:Octreotide