title: (68)Ga-DOTA (0)-Tyr (3)-octreotide positron emission tomography in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  PET/CT with (68)Ga-labelled [DOTA(0),Tyr(3)]-octreotide ((68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT) is a routinely used imaging modality for neuroendocrine tumours expressing somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Recent studies have shown SSTR expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, albeit lower than in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. We sought to determine whether nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a rare subtype of head and neck cancer, shows increased (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake indicating expression of SSTR.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five patients with untreated, histologically proven EBV-positive NPC were referred for (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. Tracer uptake in tumour lesions was assessed visually and semiquantitatively measuring maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and tumour to background ratios.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increased tumour-specific uptake was detected in all five patients with a median SUVmax of 10.6 (range 3.6 - 17.1) in the primary tumour and 13.2 (range 6.1 - 14.5) in cervical lymph node metastases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT demonstrated tracer uptake in EBV-positive NPC comparable to that in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. This observation is consistent with increased SSTR expression in EBV-positive NPC and may open new diagnostic and therapeutic windows in NPC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria, volker.schartinger@i-med.ac.at.
authors.forename: Volker H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Schartinger
authors.forename: József
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dudás
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Url
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reinold
authors.forename: Irene J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Virgolini
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kroiss
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Riechelmann
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Uprimny
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000821:virology; D015282:Octreotide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: C550726:68Ga-octreotide, DOTA(0)-Tyr(3)-; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015282:Octreotide