gallium-ga-68-dotatate and Carcinoma--Merkel-Cell

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but very aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin in elderly patients with higher mortality compared with melanoma. No evidence-based standardized chemotherapy exists for metastasized patients.We report the case of an 87-year-old patient with the history of resection of a large MCC of the parietal scalp planned for radiotherapy and staged with FDG PET/CT showing disseminated distant metastases. Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT revealed more extensive tumor load compared with FDG, and due to the intensive expression of somatostatin receptors the patient qualified for Y DOTATOC therapy.

Topics: Aged, 80 and over; Carcinoma, Merkel Cell; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Multimodal Imaging; Neoplasm Metastasis; Organometallic Compounds; Positron-Emission Tomography; Skin Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We report the case of a 69-year-old woman with a Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in whom subsequent lymph node metastasis was first diagnosed by 68Ga-Dotatate-PET/CT followed by histopathological confirmation. MCC is an extraordinarily rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of dermal origin with a high rate of postoperative recurrence. Owing to its rarity, the diagnosis of MCC remains a significant challenge. In our case, 68Ga-Dotatate-PET/CT proved clinically useful for diagnosing the lymph node metastasis of a MCC.

Topics: Aged; Carcinoma, Merkel Cell; Female; Humans; Lymphatic Metastasis; Multimodal Imaging; Organometallic Compounds; Positron-Emission Tomography; Skin Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed