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.
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

The accurate staging of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is an important aspect of treatment. In this study, the authors undertook to prospectively evaluate the clinical value of 2- (fluorine-18) fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose position emission tomography (FDG-PET) for the staging of malignant lymphoma as compared with computed tomography and 67Ga scan. Thirty consecutive cases with biopsy-proven lymphoma (4 HD, 26 NHL) were examined by FDG-PET for the initial staging and the restaging work-up between September 2000 and April 2001. The FDG-PET and conventional study, including a CT of the neck, chest, abdomen, and of the pelvis, a bone scan, a 67Ga scan, and a bone marrow study were undertaken to investigate nodal/extranodal manifestations and bone marrow infiltration. In terms of the detection of nodal lymphoma manifestation, the sensitivities and specificities of the PET, CT, and 67Ga scan were determined to be 93.3%, 98.9%, and 25.8%, and 100%, 99.1%, and 99.8%, respectively. In terms of the detection of extranodal lymphoma manifestation, the sensitivities and specificities of the PET, CT, and 67Ga scan were 87.5%, 87.5%, and 37.5%, and 100%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The FDG-PET proved to be very accurate for the staging of malignant lymphoma and superior to Ga-67 scan. Although the results of PET and CT were substantially comparable, both imaging studies were found to complement each other in some cases with respect to the evaluation of lymphomatous involvement.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone and Bones/radionuclide imaging ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Fludeoxyglucose F 18/*diagnostic use ; Gallium Radioisotopes/*diagnostic use ; Human ; Lymph Nodes/pathology ; Lymphoma/*pathology/radiography/radionuclide imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prospective Studies ; *Tomography, Emission-Computed ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed