gallium-ga-68-dotatate and Spinal-Neoplasms

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

A 62-year-old female patient with suspected insulinoma underwent 68Ga DOTA-TATE PET/CT for characterization and staging. This demonstrated a focus of uptake in the pancreas and 3 foci of uptake in the spine. An MRI of the spine performed to further characterize the lesions revealed the presence of a meningioma and degenerative changes, both of which showed 68Ga DOTA-TATE uptake. A vertebral metastasis seen on PET was occult on CT and MRI. A vertebral hemangioma had no discrete tracer uptake. Awareness of sources of error in interpreting 68Ga DOTA-TATE scans is important in order to avoid pitfalls.

Topics: Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Middle Aged; Multimodal Imaging; Neoplasm Staging; Neuroendocrine Tumors; Organometallic Compounds; Positron-Emission Tomography; Spinal Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed