title: Semiquantitative analysis and characterization of physiological biodistribution of (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT.
abstract: The aim of this study was to describe the normal physiological distribution of (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE using the SUV to reflect the density of somatostatin receptors in various organ systems.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 250 patients (90 men and 160 women) were imaged on a Biograph 64 PET/CT TruePoint (Siemens Medical Solutions) 60 to 80 minutes after injection of 120 to 200 MBq (3.2-5.4 mCi) of (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE. Visual assessment was performed on all studies on the multimodality workstation, and sites of increased uptake were recorded. The SUVmax was also calculated for each organ demonstrating increased (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE uptake.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Visual assessment of the (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT studies revealed increased uptake in the pituitary, salivary, thyroid glands, liver, spleen, adrenals, kidneys and bone reflecting normal increased somatostatin receptor expression. These sites were confirmed to be disease free on clinical follow-up and on correlation with other imaging (CT/MRI/ultrasound). Using semiquantitative analysis, SUVmax values were the highest in the pituitary gland [11 (4.5)], spleen [18.9 (6.6)], adrenal [14.0 (5.6)], and kidneys [14.2 (3.6)]. In addition, increasing uptake in the uncinate process of pancreas was noted in 12% of patients with SUVmax of 9.2 (3.3). Moderate (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE uptake was also present in salivary gland [3.4 (1.8)], thyroid [2.9 (1.2)], and normal liver [6.5 (2.2)]. The bones generally showed low (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE uptake with an SUVmax of 1.0 (0.3).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Knowledge of the normal (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE distribution is highly important for accurate interpretation of this novel imaging modality, which is increasingly being used in the imaging of neuroendocrine tumor.
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Department, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. jolanta.kunikowska@wum.edu.pl
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kunikowska
authors.forename: Leszek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Królicki
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pawlak
authors.forename: Imene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zerizer
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mikołajczak
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C513399:gallium Ga 68 dotatate