gallium-ga-68-dotatate and Hemangioma

Pancreatic haemangiomas are a rare cause of pancreatic lesions in adults. Diagnosis is challenging as they are seldom suspected and difficult to differentiate on imaging. Historically, pancreatic haemangiomas have been managed surgically despite their benign nature, largely due to diagnostic uncertainty. We present the case of a 69-year-old woman who, through combination of radiological, biochemical and endoscopic investigations, was diagnosed with pancreatic haemangioma and managed conservatively, avoiding the morbidity and mortality associated with surgical resection of a benign lesion.

Topics: Aged; Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance; Conservative Treatment; Endosonography; Female; Hemangioma; Humans; Incidental Findings; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Organometallic Compounds; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

⁶⁸Ga DOTATATE PET/CT is a well-established method in the diagnostic workup of neuroendocrine tumors. We report the case of a 15-year-old adolescent boy with histologically proven appendiceal carcinoid tumor referred for ⁶⁸Ga DOTATATE PET/CT to identify residual or metastatic disease. PET images showed increased tracer uptake in the body of T4 vertebra. This uptake could be misdiagnosed for bone metastasis, but CT characteristic appearance was in keeping with vertebral hemangioma. Both bone metastasis in carcinoid tumor and bone hemangiomas in adolescents are rare conditions, but the combined metabolic and morphological information on PET/CT can lead to the correct diagnosis.

Topics: Adolescent; Carcinoid Tumor; Hemangioma; Humans; Male; Multimodal Imaging; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neuroendocrine Tumors; Organometallic Compounds; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Spinal Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy is an established modality for imaging well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors. It is known that inflammatory diseases (eg, tuberculosis) may also accumulate somatostatin receptor analogs. Here, we present the case of a 69-year-old patient with a neuroendocrine tumor of the rectum showing uptake of Ga DOTATATE in 2 vertebrae that was caused by vertebral hemangiomas. This could be clearly demonstrated on the CT scan. Although studies outlining the normal distribution of Ga DOTATATE exist, uptake in vertebral hemangiomas has not been described yet. As the case shows, vertebral hemangiomas should be kept in mind as a benign differential diagnosis.

Topics: Aged; Hemangioma; Humans; Multimodal Imaging; Organometallic Compounds; Positron-Emission Tomography; Spinal Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed