PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Françoise Montravers AU - Dany Grahek AU - Khaldoun Kerrou AU - Philippe Ruszniewski AU - Virginie de Beco AU - Nicolas Aide AU - Fabrice Gutman AU - Jean-Didier Grangé AU - Jean-Pierre Lotz AU - Jean-Noël Talbot TI - Can Fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine PET Replace Somatostatin Receptor Scintigraphy in Patients with Digestive Endocrine Tumors? DP - 2006 Sep 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - 1455--1462 VI - 47 IP - 9 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/47/9/1455.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/47/9/1455.full SO - J Nucl Med2006 Sep 01; 47 AB - The aim of this study was to evaluate whether 18F-fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-FDOPA) PET is accurate for the diagnosis and follow-up of any type of well-differentiated digestive endocrine tumor and to assess its performance compared with standard somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) using 111In-pentetreotide. Methods: We reviewed the results of 33 evaluable 18F-FDOPA PET and 111In-pentetreotide SRS examinations performed between March 2002 and September 2005 in 30 patients referred for documented well-differentiated digestive endocrine tumor. Results: The sensitivity and accuracy of 18F-FDOPA PET were significantly better for carcinoid tumors (defined according to the World Health Organization 2000 classification) (n = 19) than for noncarcinoid tumors (n = 14)—that is, 93% versus 25% for sensitivity (P < 0.01) and 89% versus 36% for accuracy (P < 0.01), respectively. In contrast, the performances of 111In-pentetreotide SRS did not differ according to the carcinoid or noncarcinoid type of the primary endocrine tumor—that is, 81% versus 75% for sensitivity and 79% versus 71% for accuracy, respectively. In carcinoid tumors, comparison between 18F-FDOPA PET and 111In-pentetreotide SRS showed that 18F-FDOPA PET more accurately evaluated the extent of disease than 111In-pentetreotide SRS. 111In-Pentetreotide SRS did not reveal any additional lesions in any case. Conversely, in noncarcinoid tumors, the extent of the disease was more accurately evaluated in all cases by 111In-pentetreotide SRS than by 18F-FDOPA PET. Conclusion: This preliminary study emphasizes the importance of a precise histologic characterization of well-differentiated digestive endocrine tumor to select the best radiopharmaceutical. 18F-FDOPA PET appears to be useful in carcinoid tumors and could become the first-line scintigraphic imaging modality for these tumors, but 111In-pentetreotide SRS appeared to be a better first-line scintigraphic imaging modality for noncarcinoid digestive tumors.