Localization of the site of the unknown primary tumor is critical for surgical treatment of patients presenting with neuroendocrine tumor (NET) with metastases. Methods: Forty patients with metastatic NET and unknown primary site underwent 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in a single-site prospective study. The 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT was considered true-positive if the positive primary site was confirmed by histology or follow-up imaging. The scan was considered false-positive if no primary lesion was found corresponding to the 68Ga-DOTATOC-positive site. All negative scans for primary tumor were considered false-negative. A scan was classified unconfirmed if 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT suggested a primary, however, no histology was obtained and imaging follow-up was not confirmatory. Results: The true-positive, false-positive, false-negative, and unconfirmed rates for unknown primary tumor were 38%, 7%, 50%, and 5%, respectively. Conclusion:68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT is an effective modality in the localization of unknown primary in patients with metastatic NET.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01619865.
Keywords: 68Ga-DOTATOC; PET/CT; neuroendocrine; neuroendocrine tumor; unknown primary.
© 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.