MODERN APPROACHES AND RECENT ADVANCES IN NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS

Modern Approaches and Recent Advances in Neuroendocrine Tumors-kapak

THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR MEDICINEIN THE DIAGNOSIS OF GASTROENTEROPANCREATIC NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS: NEW APPROACHES

Huri Tilla İlçe

Sakarya University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Sakarya, Türkiye

İlçe HT. The Role of Nuclear Medicine in the Diagnosis of Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: New Approaches. In: Gönüllü E, Karaman K, editors. Modern Approaches and Recent Advances in Neuroendocrine Tumors. 1st ed. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri; 2025. p.85-94.

ABSTRACT

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) are rare neoplasms that originate from enterochromaffin cells. They secrete hormones and tumor-specific markers and can develop anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract. Nuclear Medicine plays a crucial role in both the diagnosis and treatment of GEP-NETs. GEP-NETs express somatostatin receptors (SRs), which serve as the foundation for somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) and, more recently, somatostatin receptor positron emission tomography (PET). Nuclear Medicine imaging modalities plays a central role in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with well-differentiated GEP-NETs. SRS and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) are among the most widely used and effective theranostic approaches for GEP-NETs. The advantage of SRS over other imaging techniques is its ability to identify patients with adequate receptor uptake, making them eligible for treatment with radiolabeled somatostatin analogs. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current applications of Nuclear Medicine Techniques in GEP-NETs.

Keywords: Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors; PET/CT, 68Ga-DOTA TATE; 18F-FDG

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