^68ga-dotatate radioisotope scan to detect neuroendocrine tumors; a cross-sectional study

Objevtive(s): neuroendocrine tumors are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms that arise from the peptide-producing cells of the neuroendocrine system. different functional imaging methods have been suggested to diagnose nets. there is still not enough evidence to recommend ^68ga-dotatate as a standard diagnostic tool in nets. therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the value of ^68ga-dotatate scan in detecting nets.methods: this was a cross-sectional study. all patients with a pathologically confirmed net tumor referred to masih daneshvari hospital affiliated to shahid beheshti university of medical sciences entered the study. patients underwent a ^68ga-dotatate pet/ct. all statistical analysis were performed by spss software version 18.results: forty patients with a mean age of 48.1±15.80 years entered the study. twenty-one (52.5%) were male and 19 (47.5%) female. in the studied patients, neuroendocrine tumor was present in 19 cases (47.5%) in pancreas and gastrointestinal tract, 9 (22.5%) in lung, 3 (7.5%) in mediastinum and adrenal gland, 6 cases (5%) in liver and 3 other sites. there was no significant association between mean age and gender with primary location of the tumor. the mean suvmax was 11.62±20.02 and the the mean tumor size was 38.25±31.35 mm. the mean size of the metastasis was 40.55±24.53 mm. the mean percentage of ki-67 was 12.54±18.40. there was no significant correlation between suvmax of the lesion and age (r=0.063, p=0.701), tumor size (r=-0.63, p=0.067) or ki-67 (r=0.011, p=0.960). in 20 cases, metastases were reported, of which 14 were (70%) in the liver, 3 in the lungs (15%), 2 in the gastrointestinal and cervical lymph nodes, and 1 in the bones and pancreas(%5).conclusion:^68ga-dota-peptide pet/ct could find the primary or metastasis sites of nets with good quality images. in general, this modality can enhance the management in patients with nets.