European journal of nuclear medicine
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Somatostatin (SMS) scintigraphy is widely used for the detection and staging of neuroendocrine tumours. Because of its superior imaging properties, there is growing interest in the use of positron emission tomography (PET) technology for SMS scintigraphy. This study addressed the production of gallium-68 DOTATOC, its biokinetics and its clinical performance in detecting SMS-positive tumours and metastases. ⋯ Tumour to non-tumour ratios ranged from >3:1 for liver ((111)In-octreotide: 1.5:1) to 100:1 for CNS ((111)In-octreotide: 10:1). With (68)Ga-DOTATOC >30% additional lesions were detected. It is concluded that PET using (68)Ga-DOTATOC results in high tumour to non-tumour contrast and low kidney accumulation and yields higher detection rates as compared with (111)In-octreotide scintigraphy.