Insulinomas are the most common cause of hypoglycemia, resulting from endogenous hyperinsulinism. The diagnosis of insulinoma is established by demonstrating inappropriately high serum insulin concentrations during a spontaneous or induced episode of hypoglycemia. Most insulinomas are islet-cell tumors. They are often small (<2 cm), benign, and difficult to localize with current imaging techniques. Insulinomas can be detected using either noninvasive procedures (e.g., transabdominal ultrasonography, spiral CT, MRI, 111In-pentetreotide imaging, and 18F-l-dihydroxyphenylalanine PET) or invasive procedures (e.g., endoscopic ultrasonography) or a selective arterial calcium stimulation test with hepatic venous sampling. Methods: We performed 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT on 3 patients with insulinoma. Results: All patients' insulinomas were shown clearly with 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT. Conclusion:68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging may be a useful noninvasive imaging technique to localize insulinomas preoperatively.
Keywords: 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT; insulinoma; neuroendocrine tumor.
© 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.