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Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 10/2016

01-09-2016 | Original Article

[68Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI and [18F]FDG PET/CT are complementary and superior to diffusion-weighted MR imaging for radioactive-iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer

Authors: Alexis Vrachimis, Lars Stegger, Christian Wenning, Benjamin Noto, Matthias Christian Burg, Julia Renate Konnert, Thomas Allkemper, Walter Heindel, Burkhard Riemann, Michael Schäfers, Matthias Weckesser

Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Issue 10/2016

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine whether [68Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can replace or complement [18F]FDG PET/CT in patients with radioactive-iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).

Methods

The study population comprised 12 patients with elevated thyroglobulin and a negative RAI scan after thyroidectomy and RAI remnant ablation who underwent both [18F]FDG PET/CT and [68Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI within 8 weeks of each other. The presence of recurrent cancer was evaluated on a per-patient, per-organ and per-lesion basis. Histology, and prior and follow-up examinations served as the standard of reference.

Results

Recurrent or metastatic tumour was confirmed in 11 of the 12 patients. [68Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) correctly identified the tumour burden in all 11 patients, whereas in one patient local relapse was missed by [18F]FDG PET/CT. In the lesion-based analysis, overall lesion detection rates were 79/85 (93 %), 69/85 (81 %) and 27/82 (33 %) for [18F]FDG PET/CT, [68Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI and DWI, respectively. [18F]FDG PET(/CT) was superior to [68Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) in the overall evaluation and in the detection of pulmonary metastases. In the detection of extrapulmonary metastases, [68Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) showed a higher sensitivity than [18F]FDG PET(/CT), at the cost of lower specificity. DWI achieved only poor sensitivity and was significantly inferior to [18F]FDG PET in the lesion-based evaluation in the detection of both extrapulmonary and pulmonary metastases.

Conclusion

[18F]FDG PET/CT was more sensitive than [68Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI in the evaluation of RAI-refractory DTC, mostly because of its excellent ability to detect lung metastases. In the evaluation of extrapulmonary lesions, [68Ga]DOTATATE PET(/MRI) was more sensitive and [18F]FDG PET(/CT) more specific. Furthermore, DWI did not provide additional information and cannot replace [18F]FDG PET for postoperative monitoring of patients with suspected RAI-refractory DTC.
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Metadata
Title
[68Ga]DOTATATE PET/MRI and [18F]FDG PET/CT are complementary and superior to diffusion-weighted MR imaging for radioactive-iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer
Authors
Alexis Vrachimis
Lars Stegger
Christian Wenning
Benjamin Noto
Matthias Christian Burg
Julia Renate Konnert
Thomas Allkemper
Walter Heindel
Burkhard Riemann
Michael Schäfers
Matthias Weckesser
Publication date
01-09-2016
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Issue 10/2016
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-016-3378-5

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