2025/01/01 by Kalyan Vemulapalli, Kalyan Mansukhbhai Shekhda, Gowri Ratnayake +9 · 1 voice
Medicine · #Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Advances #Lung Cancer Research Studies #Neuroblastoma Research and Treatments
paper · doi:10.1530/eo-25-0060
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/09/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27
Purpose To evaluate the added benefit and accuracy of 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT scans in detecting duodeno-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (dpNETs) compared to conventional cross-sectional imaging with CT or MRI scans in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1), and whether the results from the 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT produce a change in management plans for patients with MEN-1 and dpNETs. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed comparing the initial 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT to the respective contemporary CT or MRI imaging in patients with MEN-1 under the care of a tertiary neuroendocrine centre. Imaging and electronic patient records were analysed to identify treatment plans and the records of multidisciplinary team discussions. Results In total, 85% (n = 39/46) of patients with MEN-1 had a 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT study in the electronic patient record; 23 of those with duodeno-pancreatic lesions detected also had contemporaneous contrast-enhanced CT scans, while 18 had MRI scans. 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT detected a total of 47 pancreatic lesions compared to 25 on CT, while 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT detected 32 pancreatic lesions compared to 25 on MRI. There were no duodenal lesions detected on conventional CT or MRI, but in comparison to CT and MRI, 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT detected eight and one duodenal lesions respectively. While 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT detected more liver metastases compared to CT (n: 31 vs 21) and similar numbers compared to MRI (n: 11 vs 11), these differences were not statistically significant. As a result of findings on 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT, a change of management was indicated in 69% (n = 27/39) of patients. Of these, 14 patients were offered somatostatin analogues (SSTA), eight patients were offered surgical intervention, three patients were offered peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, and one patient was offered ablation of liver metastases. Conclusions In patients with MEN-1, 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT was shown to detect a greater number of duodeno-pancreatic lesions compared to conventional cross-sectional CT or MRI imaging. Management plans were changed in most patients following their initial 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT. Therefore, we suggest that somatostatin receptor-targeted PET/CT scans should be an integral part of the investigation of patients with MEN-1 for staging of suspected duodeno-pancreatic NETs.