Diagnostic performance and impact on patient management of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT in colorectal neuroendocrine tumors derived from hindgut.

The main purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the diagnostic performance of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-D-Phe1-Try3-octreotide(DOTA-TOC) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with well-differentiated colorectal Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) originating from the hindgut. The other aims were to assess the impact of the examination on patient management and to analyze the results of 2-[18F]FDG and/or 6-[18F]FDOPA PET/CT when they were performed. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT and clinical data from 30 patients with biopsy-proven well-differentiated NETs originating from the hindgut were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed by comparing the [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT findings with pathological and/or follow-up data. We also compared the [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT results with 2-[18F]FDG and/or 6-[18F]FDOPA PET/CT results in 6 patients. The impact on management was determined in hindsight by comparing the patient management decided before and after the TEP examination based on data from multidisciplinary team meetings. On a patient basis, [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT was accurate in 30 of the 30 examinations. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT correctly identified the primary tumor in all patients with primary tumors not resected before the examination and allowed the detection of unexpected distant metastases in 36% of the patients referred for initial staging. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT findings affected patient management in 57% of cases with generally major intermodality changes. Intraindividual comparison of the results of the different PET radiopharmaceuticals showed a clear superiority of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT considering both the number of lesions and the intensity of uptake. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT is an accurate imaging modality for the assessment of well-differentiated colorectal NETs that highly impact patient management. Thus, we suggest that [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT be employed as a first choice for the assessment of these tumors in nuclear medicine.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue with cardiac metastasis on 18F-FDG PET/CT: A case report and literature review.

INTRODUCTION: The most common malignancies metastasizing to the heart are cancers of the lung, breast, mesothelioma, melanoma, leukemia, and lymphoma. Cardiac metastasis from a tongue cancer is a rare finding and only a few cases have been reported previously in the literature. In this case report and literature review, we discuss the main clinical features of patients with cardiac metastases secondary to a tongue cancer and imaging modalities performed, especially the 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT). PATIENT CONCERNS: This is a case of a 39-year-old woman who in April 2018 was diagnosed with an invasive well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the movable tongue. She underwent a left hemiglossectomy followed by a revision of hemiglossectomy and ipsilateral selective neck lymph nodes dissection levels II to III because of pathological margins. An early inoperable clinical recurrence was diagnosed and she received radiochemotherapy with good clinical and metabolic response. She remained asymptomatic thereafter. DIAGNOSIS: In January 2020, a pre-scheduled 18F-FDG PET/CT showed a diffuse cardiac involvement. In February 2020, a biopsy of the lesion revealed a metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. INTERVENTIONS: She was deemed to not be a cardiac surgical candidate and treated by palliative chemotherapy: taxol-carboplatin associated with cetuximab then cetuximab alone because of adverse effects. A re-evaluation imaging performed in April 2020 evidenced a progression of the cardiac involvement, which led to switch chemotherapy by immunotherapy with nivolumab. OUTCOMES: This patient had a very poor prognosis and succumbed to major heart failure 4 months after the diagnosis of cardiac metastasis. CONCLUSION: In this case report, 18F-FDG PET/CT proved to be useful in detecting cardiac metastasis and changed the therapeutic management of the patient. It suggests that patients with tongue malignancies in a context of poor initial prognosis should be followed-up early by 18F-FDG PET/CT with HFLC diet to facilitate detection of recurrence.