Contemporary nuclear medicine imaging of neuroendocrine tumours.
Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are rare, heterogeneous, and often hormonally active neoplasms. Nuclear medicine (NM) imaging using single photon- and positron-emitting radiopharmaceuticals allows sensitive and highly specific molecular imaging of NETs, complementary to anatomy-based techniques, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Somatostatin-receptor scintigraphy is a whole-body imaging technique widely used for diagnosis, staging and restaging of NETs. The increasing availability of hybrid single-photon emission CT (SPECT)/CT cameras now offers superior accuracy for localization and functional characterization of NETs compared to traditional planar and SPECT imaging. The potential role of positron-emission tomography (PET) tracers in the functional imaging of NETs is also being increasingly recognized. In addition to 2-[(18)F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG), newer positron-emitting radiopharmaceuticals such as (18)F-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and (68)Ga-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) peptides, show promise for the future. This article will summarize the role of current and emerging radiopharmaceuticals in NM imaging of this rare but important group of tumours.
Nuclear Medicine, Radiology Department, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. kakit41@gmail.com
K K
KK
Wong
R T
RT
Waterfield
M C
MC
Marzola
A F
AF
Scarsbrook
F U
FU
Chowdhury
M D
MD
Gross
D
D
Rubello
D002838:Chromaffin System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; C043437:fluorodopa F 18; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine