01-09-2016 | Original Article
PET/CT comparing 68Ga-DOTATATE and other radiopharmaceuticals and in comparison with CT/MRI for the localization of sporadic metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma
Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Issue 10/2016
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Purpose
Pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PPGLs) and their metastases are tumors that predominantly express somatostatin receptor 2 (SSR2). 68Ga-DOTA(0)-Tyr(3)-octreotate (68Ga-DOTATATE) is a PET radiopharmaceutical with both high and selective affinity for SSRs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of 68Ga-DOTATATE in comparison with other specific and nonspecific radiopharmaceuticals recommended in the current guidelines for the localization of metastatic sporadic PPGL by PET/CT.
Methods
This prospective study included 22 patients (15 men, 7 women; aged 50.0 ± 13.9 years) with confirmed metastatic PPGL, a negative family history for PPGL, and negative genetic testing, who underwent 68Ga-DOTATATE, 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT, and CT/MRI. Only 12 patients underwent an additional 18F-fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-FDOPA) PET/CT scan and only 11 patients underwent an additional 18F-fluorodopamine (18F-FDA) PET/CT scan. The rates of detection of metastatic lesions were compared among all the imaging studies. A composite of all functional and anatomical imaging studies served as the imaging comparator.
Results
68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed a lesion-based detection rate of 97.6 % (95 % confidence interval, CI, 95.8 – 98.7 %). 18F-FDG PET/CT, 18F-FDOPA PET/CT, 18F-FDA PET/CT, and CT/MRI showed detection rates of 49.2 % (CI 44.5 – 53.6 %; p < 0.01), 74.8 % (CI 69.0 – 79.9 %); p < 0.01), 77.7 % (CI 71.5 – 82.8 %; p < 0.01), and 81.6 % (CI 77.8 – 84.8 %; p < 0.01), respectively.
Conclusion
The results of this study demonstrate the superiority of 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in the localization of sporadic metastatic PPGLs compared to all other functional and anatomical imaging modalities, and suggest modification of future guidelines towards this new imaging modality.