Spectral CT in clinical routine imaging of neuroendocrine neoplasms

AIM To evaluate the potential of new spectral computed tomography (SCT)-based tools in patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN). MATERIAL AND METHODS Eighty-eight consecutive patients with NENs were included prospectively. The patients underwent multiphase CT with spectral and standard mode. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)/contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR)tumour-to-liver, iodine concentrations (ICs, total tumour/hotspot) and attenuation slopes in virtual monochromatic images (VMIs) were used to assess NEN-specific SCT values in primary tumours and metastatic lesions and investigate a possible lesion contrast improvement as well as possible correlations of SCT parameters to primary tumour location and tumour grade. Furthermore, the usability of SCT parameters to differentiate between the primary tumour and metastatic lesions, and to predict tumour response after 6-months follow-up was analyzed. The applied dose of spectral and standard mode was compared intra-individually. RESULTS SNR/CNRtumour-to-liver significantly increased in low-energy VMIs. NENs showed significant differences in ICs between primary and metastatic lesions for both absolute and normalised values (p CONCLUSION SCT was comparable regarding applied dose, improved tumour contrast, and contributed to differentiation between primary NEN and metastasis.