PET imaging with 68gallium labelled somatostatin analogues in the evaluation of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs)

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are rare tumours arising from cells of the nervous and endocrine systems. Since the 1990's, the use of somatostatin analogues (SSTa) imaging for NETs evaluation has allowed a better understanding of these neoplasms. Recent (68)gallium labelled somatostatin analogues with higher affinity for somatostatin receptors are now available for PET/CT imaging of NETs, leading to new imaging protocols for patient care. Three new analogues (DOTATOC, DOTANOC, DOTATATE) were superior to OctreoScan (R), and conventional imaging for lesion detection. In this article, recent publications on the diagnostic and care of gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) tumours, pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PPGLs), unknown primary tumours, medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTC), Merkel tumours and Cushing syndrome with ectopic ACTH hypersecretion are reviewed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.