Dual tracer functional imaging of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors using 68Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and 18F-FDG PET-CT: competitive or complimentary?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT with F-FDG PET/CT in the patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Data of 51 patients with definite histological diagnosis of GEP-NET who underwent both Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and F-FDG PET-CT within a span of 15 days were selected for this retrospective analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated for Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and F-FDG PET-CT, and results were compared both on patientwise and regionwise analysis.

RESULTS:

Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT is superior to F-FDG PET-CT on patientwise analysis (P < 0.0001). On regionwise analysis, Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT is superior to F-FDG PET-CT only for lymph node metastases (P < 0.003). Although Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT detected more liver and skeletal lesions compared with F-FDG PET-CT, the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, the results of combined imaging helped in selecting candidates who would undergo the appropriate mode of treatment, whether octreotide therapy or conventional chemotherapy

CONCLUSIONS:

Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT seems to be superior to F-FDG PET-CT for imaging GEP-NETs. However, their role seems to be complementary because combination of Ga-DOTA-NOC PET-CT and F-FDG PET-CT in such patients helps demonstrate the total disease burden and segregate them to proper therapeutic groups.

• Authors: Niraj Naswa, Punit Sharma, Santosh Kumar Gupta, Sellam Karunanithi, Rama Mohan Reddy, Manish Patnecha, Sneh Lata, Rakesh Kumar, Arun Malhotra, Chandrasekhar Bal
• Journal: Clinical nuclear medicine (Clin Nucl Med) Vol. 39 Issue 1 Pg. e27-34 (Jan 2014) ISSN: 1536-0229 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24217539 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• 68Ga-DOTANOC
• Organometallic Compounds
• Radioactive Tracers
• Fluorodeoxyglucose F18

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Aged
• Female
• Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
• Humans
• Intestinal Neoplasms (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Multimodal Imaging (methods)
• Neoplasm Metastasis
• Neuroendocrine Tumors (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Organometallic Compounds
• Pancreatic Neoplasms (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Positron-Emission Tomography (methods)
• Radioactive Tracers
• Retrospective Studies
• Stomach Neoplasms (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed (methods)