There are limited data on the utility of 6-
18F-fluoro-
l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (
18F-DOPA) and
18F-2-deoxy-
d-glucose (
18F-FDG) in the workup of patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors ...(PNETs). The aim of our study was to determine the accuracy of
18F-DOPA and
18F-FDG to detect PNETs in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (vHL).
We studied prospectively 69 patients with a diagnosis of vHL and pancreatic lesion(s) using computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
18F-FDG, and
18F-DOPA. Clinical, genetic, and laboratory characteristics were analyzed to determine association with imaging study results.
In sum, 40 patients underwent evaluation by all 4 modalities; 98 PNETs and 55 PNETs were identified on CT and MRI, respectively. Only 11 of the 98 lesions (11%) were positive on
18F-DOPA and 45 of the 98 (46%) lesions were positive on
18F-FDG. There were 13
18F-DOPA and 26
18F-FDG avid extrapancreatic lesions. One patient underwent resection of an
18F-DOPA avid extrapancreatic lesion in the lung, with pathology demonstrating a NET. There was no association between
18F-DOPA and
18F-FDG avidity and tumor size, age, gender, vHL mutation, or serum chromogranin A level.
18F-FDG and MRI may be adjuncts to CT in identifying PNETs and metastatic disease.
18F-DOPA has limited value in identifying PNETs in patients with vHL, but may be useful for identifying extrapancreatic NET lesions.
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