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      Recent developments in imaging of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

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          Abstract

          Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are very rare, accounting for 1-2% of all pancreatic neoplasms. They are classified into functioning and non-functioning and their behavior varies widely from benign to highly malignant. For their investigation, a variety of anatomical and functional imaging methods are available. Anatomical methods include computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography. Functional methods include scintigraphy and positron emission tomography (PET). A combination of anatomical and morphological methods results in the so-called hybrid imaging, such as PET/CT. We herein discuss the currently available imaging modalities for the investigation of PNETs and, more specifically, their applications in tumor detection and staging as well as in choice of therapy, imaging follow up and prediction of response, with emphasis on the recent developments.

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          Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors: pancreatic endocrine tumors.

          Pancreatic endocrine tumors (PETs) have long fascinated clinicians and investigators despite their relative rarity. Their clinical presentation varies depending on whether the tumor is functional or not, and also according to the specific hormonal syndrome produced. Tumors may be sporadic or inherited, but little is known about their molecular pathology, especially the sporadic forms. Chromogranin A appears to be the most useful serum marker for diagnosis, staging, and monitoring. Initially, therapy should be directed at the hormonal syndrome because this has the major initial impact on the patient's health. Most PETs are relatively indolent but ultimately malignant, except for insulinomas, which predominantly are benign. Surgery is the only modality that offers the possibility of cure, although it generally is noncurative in patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome or nonfunctional PETs with multiple endocrine neoplasia-type 1. Preoperative staging of disease extent is necessary to determine the likelihood of complete resection although debulking surgery often is believed to be useful in patients with unresectable tumors. Once metastatic, biotherapy is usually the first modality used because it generally is well tolerated. Systemic or regional therapies generally are reserved until symptoms occur or tumor growth is rapid. Recently, a number of newer agents, as well as receptor-directed radiotherapy, are being evaluated for patients with advanced disease. This review addresses a number of recent advances regarding the molecular pathology, diagnosis, localization, and management of PETs including discussion of peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy and other novel antitumor approaches. We conclude with a discussion of future directions and unsettled problems in the field.
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            Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuroendocrine Gastrointestinal Tumours

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              68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT for the early prediction of response to somatostatin receptor-mediated radionuclide therapy in patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors.

              We aimed to evaluate (68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT for the early prediction of time to progression and clinical outcome after a first cycle of peptide receptor radionuclide treatment (PRRT) in a cohort of patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors. Thirty-three consecutive patients (22 men and 11 women; mean age +/- SD, 57.8 +/- 12.1 y) were investigated at baseline and again 3 mo after initiation of the first cycle of PRRT. (68)Ga-DOTATATE receptor expression was assessed using 2 measures of standardized uptake value (SUV): maximum SUV (SUV(max)) and tumor-to-spleen SUV ratio (SUV(T/S)). Percentage change in SUV scores after PRRT relative to baseline (DeltaSUV) was calculated. After completing 1-3 cycles of PRRT, patients entered the follow-up study, for estimation of time to progression. According to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, progression was defined on the basis of contrast-enhanced CT. Clinical symptoms, as well as the tumor markers chromogranin A and neuron-specific enolase, were also recorded during regular follow-up visits. The 23 of 31 patients with decreased SUV(T/S) after the first PRRT cycle had longer progression-free survival than did the 8 of 31 patients with stable or increased scores (median survival not reached vs. 6 mo, P = 0.002). For the 18 of 33 patients showing a reduction in SUV(max), there was no significant difference in progression-free survival (median survival not reached vs. 14 mo, P = 0.22). Multivariate regression analysis identified SUV(T/S) as the only independent predictor for tumor progression during follow-up. In the 17 of 33 patients with clinical symptoms before PRRT, DeltaSUV(T/S) correlated with clinical improvement (r = 0.52, P < 0.05), whereas DeltaSUV(max) did not (r = 0.42, P = 0.10). Changes in the tumor markers (chromogranin A and neuron-specific enolase) did not predict DeltaSUV scores, clinical improvement, or time to progression. Decreased (68)Ga-DOTATATE uptake in tumors after the first cycle of PRRT predicted time to progression and correlated with an improvement in clinical symptoms among patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors; DeltaSUV(T/S) was superior to DeltaSUV(max) for prediction of outcome.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Ann Gastroenterol
                Ann Gastroenterol
                AnnGastroenterol
                Annals of Gastroenterology : Quarterly Publication of the Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology
                Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology (Greece )
                1108-7471
                1792-7463
                Apr-Jun 2015
                : 28
                : 2
                : 193-202
                Affiliations
                [a ]Division of Medical Imaging and Technology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Nikolaos Kartalis, Raffaella Maria Pozzi Mucelli), Sweden
                [b ]Department of Radiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm (Nikolaos Kartalis, Raffaella Maria Pozzi Mucelli), Sweden
                [c ]Department of Radiology, Oncology and Radiation Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala (Anders Sundin), Sweden
                Author notes
                Correspondence to: Nikolaos Kartalis, C1-46, KS Huddinge, 14186, Stockholm, Sweden, Tel.: + 46 858 584628, e-mail address: nikolaos.kartalis@ 123456karolinska.se
                Article
                AnnGastroenterol-28-193
                4367208
                25830417
                0d6764d6-bbfd-4263-8af6-55eff96ec4f4
                Copyright: © Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 05 July 2014
                : 27 August 2014
                Categories
                Invited Review

                anatomical imaging,functional imaging,pancreatic neoplasms

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