title: Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in primary cutaneous T- and B-cell lymphomas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Monitoring and repeated staging is of substantial importance in many patients with primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL). For primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL), extensive initial staging is the mainstay for correct diagnosis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the value of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy using the radiolabeled somatostatin analog (111)In-pentetreotide in comparison to conventional imaging methods for the staging of patients with primary CTCL and primary CBCL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two patients (15 patients with histologically verified CTCL and 7 patients with histologically verified CBCL) were included. Stage of disease was established by physical examination, laboratory screening, skin inspection, palpation of superficial lymph nodes, sonography and computed tomography (CT) in patients with advanced clinical stage. Focally elevated tracer uptake of (111)In-pentetreotide was compared to common imaging modalities, physical aspect and digital photographs of the respective skin lesions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 15 patients with CTCL, only 4 (27%) showed positive scintigraphic results, but not in all sites of lymphomatous involvement. None of the five patients with mycosis fungoides in stage I, nor any of the four patients with Sézary syndrome, had a positive (111)In- pentetreotide scan. Of the seven patients with CBCL three positive scintigraphic results (43%) could be obtained: in two patients with a follicular center lymphoma and one patient with a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma - leg type, but again not in all apparent sites of lymphoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on our results, we do not recommend the use of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy for routine staging of patients with CTCL and CBCL. As our series includes only 22 patients, and the number of patients with rarer variants of CTCL was rather small, it might be too premature to abandon SST-R in the staging of patients with cutaneous lymphomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. julia.valencak@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valencak
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Trautinger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raderer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chott
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Der-Petrossian
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ivancic-Brandenberger
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Knobler
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurtaran
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin