1. A retrospective analysis of the correlation between functional imaging and clinical outcomes in grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors (Nets g3)
- Author
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Laffi, A, Colandrea, M, Buonsanti, G, Frassoni, S, Bagnardi, V, Spada, F, Pisa, E, Barberis, M, Rubino, M, Grana, C, Ceci, F, Fazio, N, Laffi A., Colandrea M., Buonsanti G., Frassoni S., Bagnardi V., Spada F., Pisa E., Barberis M., Rubino M., Grana C. M., Ceci F., Fazio N., Laffi, A, Colandrea, M, Buonsanti, G, Frassoni, S, Bagnardi, V, Spada, F, Pisa, E, Barberis, M, Rubino, M, Grana, C, Ceci, F, Fazio, N, Laffi A., Colandrea M., Buonsanti G., Frassoni S., Bagnardi V., Spada F., Pisa E., Barberis M., Rubino M., Grana C. M., Ceci F., and Fazio N.
- Abstract
Grade 3 (G3) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a novel category among digestive neuroen-docrine neoplasms, characterized by Ki-67 >20% and a well-differentiated morphology, presenting high intra-tumor heterogeneity. We aimed to explore the role of dual-tracer PET imaging (68 Gallium (Ga)-DOTATOC and18 Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)) as overall survival (OS) predictor in NET G3 patients. We performed a retrospective analysis in NET G3 patients treated at our institution between 2003 and 2021. Accordingly, 30 NET G3 patients were analyzed.68 Ga-DOTA-TOC and18 F-FDG uptake were assessed by tumor/non-tumor (T-nonT) ratio. We reported a slightly better OS for patients with ≥75% concordance between68 Ga-DOTA-TOC and18 F-FDG PET/CT (p = 0.42). Among patients with discordant functional imaging, we reported a better 5-y OS rate for patients with a prevalent68 Ga-DOTATOC vs.18 F-FDG PET/CT (p = 0.016). In positive18 F-FDG PET/CT cases, we reported a better OS for <4 vs. ≥4 T/non-T ratio (p = 0.021). Among upfront-NET G3 patients with concordant exams, 5-y OS rate was 83.3% (95% CI: 27.3–97.5). Among patients with discordant exams, 5-y OS rate was 81.3% (52.5–93.5), 100% for those with prevalent receptor expression, and 50% (11.1–80.4) for those with prevalent18 F-FDG uptake. Our findings suggest that dual-tracer PET/CT can be considered as a predictor of patient outcome, able to stratify NET G3 patients with poorer prognosis.
- Published
- 2021