BACKGROUND This study assesses the value of image fusion using 18F-fluoro-L-DOPA (18F-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for examining patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and a suspicion of metastasis of the liver. METHODS Eleven patients (five women and six men aged between 20 and 81, with a mean age of 54.6 years) were included in the study. All patients underwent whole-body 18F-DOPA PET examinations and contrast-enhanced MRI with diffusion-weighted sequences (DWS). Image fusion was performed using a semiautomatic voxel-based algorithm. Images obtained using PET and MRI were assessed separately. Side-by-side evaluations of fused PET/MRI images were also performed. RESULTS In total, 55 liver lesions (52 liver metastases and 3 benign lesions) were detected in the 11 patients. Sensitivity detection for liver lesions was higher when using PET/CT than when using contrast-enhanced MRI without DWSs and lower than using MRI with DWSs. The sensitivity of PET/MRI image fusion in the detection of liver metastasis was significantly higher than that of MRI with DWSs (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Images of the liver obtained using PET and MRI in patients with NETs exhibited characteristic features. These findings suggest that an appropriate combination of available imaging modalities can optimize patient evaluations.

中文翻译：

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18F-FDOPA-PET / MRI图像融合在胃肠道神经内分泌肿瘤患者肝转移检测中的作用。

背景技术本研究评估使用18F-氟-L-DOPA（18F-DOPA）正电子发射断层扫描（PET）和磁共振成像（MRI）进行图像融合的价值，以检查神经内分泌肿瘤（NETs）和怀疑是否转移的患者肝脏。方法该研究纳入了11名患者（5名女性和6名男性，年龄在20至81岁之间，平均年龄为54.6岁）。所有患者均接受了全身18F-DOPA PET检查和具有弥散加权序列（DWS）的增强造影剂MRI。使用基于半自动体素的算法执行图像融合。分别评估使用PET和MRI获得的图像。还对PET / MRI融合图像进行了并行评估。结果在11例患者中共检测到55个肝脏病变（52个肝转移灶和3个良性病变）。与不使用DWS的对比增强MRI相比，使用PET / CT时对肝脏病变的敏感性检测更高，而与使用DWS的MRI相比则更低。PET / MRI图像融合检测肝转移的敏感性明显高于DWSs的MRI（P <0.05）。结论NETs患者使用PET和MRI获得的肝脏图像具有特征性特征。这些发现表明，可用成像方式的适当组合可以优化患者评估。结论NETs患者使用PET和MRI获得的肝脏图像具有特征性特征。这些发现表明，可用成像方式的适当组合可以优化患者评估。结论NETs患者使用PET和MRI获得的肝脏图像具有特征性特征。这些发现表明，可用成像方式的适当组合可以优化患者评估。