Korean J Intern Med.  2010 Dec;25(4):386-391. 10.3904/kjim.2010.25.4.386.

Role of (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in the Evaluation of Primary Pulmonary Carcinoids

• Jindal T
• Kumar A
• Venkitaraman B
• Dutta R
• Kumar R

• KMID: 964719
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2010.25.4.386

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Although carcinoid tumors usually have good prognosis, early and specific diagnosis is important. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging do not provide findings that are specific for carcinoids, and somatostatin receptor scintigraphy suffers from low spatial resolution. 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) has limited sensitivity for carcinoids due to low uptake of the marker. A PET/CT system that uses the somatostatin receptor-based PET tracer 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N(I),N(II),N(III),N(IIII)-tetraacetic acid (D)-Phe(1)-thy(3)-octreotide ((68)Ga-DOTATOC) has also been used in the evaluation of carcinoids, although information regarding its use for the detection of primary pulmonary carcinoids is limited. Thus, we investigated the value of (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT for the diagnosis of primary pulmonary carcinoid tumors.
METHODS
This was a retrospective analysis of patients with primary pulmonary tumors who underwent (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT. All the patients had a histopathologic diagnosis of carcinoid. The rate of detection of primary pulmonary carcinoid tumors using (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT was assessed.
RESULTS
Twenty patients were diagnosed as having carcinoid, and 19 tumors showed significant uptake on (68)Ga-DOTATOC (detection rate, 95%). The maximal standardized uptake value (SUV(max)) ranged from 1.1 to 66, with a median value of 21.6. In one patient, (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT revealed additional lesions.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate that (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT is useful in the evaluation of primary pulmonary carcinoids and should be included in the diagnostic work-up of these patients.

Keyword

Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Gallium-68 DOTATOC; Positron-emission tomography; Receptors, somatostatin; Carcinoids tumor

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Carcinoid Tumor/*diagnosis/radiography/radionuclide imaging
Female
Gallium Radioisotopes/*diagnostic use
Humans
Lung Neoplasms/*diagnosis/radiography/radionuclide imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Octreotide/*analogs & derivatives/diagnostic use
Positron-Emission Tomography/*methods
Radiopharmaceuticals/*diagnostic use
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods