PURPOSE To explore the feasibility of [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to evaluate whether [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT could be used for non-invasive determination of somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2) expression in NPC. METHODS This prospective study included patients with NPC who underwent [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT between February and May 2021. The [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE and [18F]FDG uptakes in primary and metastatic NPC lesions were calculated and compared, and the [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake between SSTR2 score groups was analysed. RESULTS A total of 36 participants (25 patients, initial staging; 11 patients, recurrence detection) were included; 33 patients also underwent [18F]FDG PET/CT for staging/restaging as a part of their routine diagnostic workup. [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed an intense tracer uptake in primary and metastatic NPC lesions. The radiotracer uptake was higher with [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE than with [18F]FDG PET in primary NPC lesions (SUVmax: 12.03 vs. 10.07, P = 0.048; tumour-to-brain ratio: 36.16 vs. 0.86, P < 0.001) and regional lymph node metastases (median SUVmax: 9.11 vs. 6.12, P < 0.001) and comparable in bone and visceral metastases. Importantly, most NPC lesions showed intense SSTR2 expression (85.7%), which was strongly correlated with the [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake. The SUVmax of SSTR2-negative lesions was significantly lower than that of SSTR2-positive lesions (SUVmax: 4.95 vs. 12.61, P = 0.013). CONCLUSION [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT is a promising imaging modality for detecting primary and metastatic NPC, with favourable image contrast and comparable diagnostic efficacy when compared to [18F]FDG PET/CT. An intense SSTR2 expression was observed in most NPCs, and this expression was significantly correlated with the [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE uptake.

中文翻译：

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[68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE 正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描 (PET/CT) 对鼻咽癌患者的生长抑素受体成像。

目的 探讨[68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描（PET/CT）在非角化性鼻咽癌（NPC）患者中的可行性，并评估[68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT是否可以应用。用于非侵入性测定 NPC 中生长抑素受体 2 (SSTR2) 的表达。方法 这项前瞻性研究纳入了在 2021 年 2 月至 2021 年 5 月期间接受了 [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT 的 NPC 患者。计算并比较了原发性和转移性 NPC 病变中的 [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE 和 [18F]FDG 摄取量，以及分析了 SSTR2 评分组之间的 [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE 摄取。结果 共纳入 36 名参与者（25 名患者，初始分期；11 名患者，复发检测）；作为常规诊断检查的一部分，33 名患者还接受了 [18F]FDG PET/CT 进行分期/再分期。[68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT 在原发性和转移性 NPC 病变中显示出强烈的示踪剂摄取。在原发性 NPC 病变中，[68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE 的放射性示踪剂摄取高于 [18F]FDG PET（SUVmax：12.03 对 10.07，P = 0.048；肿瘤脑比：36.16 对 0.86，P < 0.001 ) 和区域淋巴结转移（中位 SUVmax：9.11 对 6.12，P < 0.001）并且在骨和内脏转移中具有可比性。重要的是，大多数 NPC 病变表现出强烈的 SSTR2 表达 (85.7%)，这与 [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE 的摄取密切相关。SSTR2 阴性病灶的 SUVmax 显着低于 SSTR2 阳性病灶（SUVmax：4.95 vs. 12.61，P = 0.013）。结论 [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT 是一种用于检测原发性和转移性 NPC 的有前途的成像方式，与 [18F]FDG PET/CT 相比，具有良好的图像对比度和可比的诊断效果。在大多数 NPC 中观察到强烈的 SSTR2 表达，并且这种表达与 [68Ga]Ga-DOTATATE 摄取显着相关。