Abstract
Purpose
PET/CT with 68Ga-labelled [DOTA0,Tyr3]-octreotide (68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT) is a routinely used imaging modality for neuroendocrine tumours expressing somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Recent studies have shown SSTR expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, albeit lower than in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. We sought to determine whether nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a rare subtype of head and neck cancer, shows increased 68Ga-DOTA-TOC uptake indicating expression of SSTR.
Methods
Five patients with untreated, histologically proven EBV-positive NPC were referred for 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT. Tracer uptake in tumour lesions was assessed visually and semiquantitatively measuring maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and tumour to background ratios.
Results
Increased tumour-specific uptake was detected in all five patients with a median SUVmax of 10.6 (range 3.6 – 17.1) in the primary tumour and 13.2 (range 6.1 – 14.5) in cervical lymph node metastases.
Conclusion
68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT demonstrated tracer uptake in EBV-positive NPC comparable to that in highly differentiated neuroendocrine tumours. This observation is consistent with increased SSTR expression in EBV-positive NPC and may open new diagnostic and therapeutic windows in NPC.
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Schartinger, V.H., Dudás, J., Url, C. et al. 68Ga-DOTA0-Tyr3-octreotide positron emission tomography in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 42, 20–24 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-014-2905-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-014-2905-5