Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Value of the 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT in the diagnosis of endometriosis. A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: The non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis remains challenging. Recent data suggested that somatostatin might be involved in its pathogenesis. High sensitive visualization of somatostatin receptors expression is possible using PET-CT imaging after the administration of a 68 Ga-labeled somatostatin analog (DOTATATE) that will bind to the somatostatin receptor sub-types 2 and 5. The aim of the present study was to assess the usefulness of 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT in the diagnosis of endometriosis.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective, single center pilot study. A pre operative 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT was performed in all of the patients who presented with suspected endometriosis and who were scheduled for a laparoscopy. Surgical endometriosis staging and histopathological analysis, including somatostatin receptors SST1, 2 and 5 immunohistochemistry (IHC) of removed specimens, were confronted to the results of the 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT.

RESULTS: 12 patients were included in this study. 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT performed pre operatively showed increased pathologic uptake in four patients with a deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) recto-vaginal lesion and in another patient with an adenomyoma. Expression of SST1, 2 and 5 receptors in surgical specimens was confirmed by IHC in these five lesions. Neither superficial peritoneal endometriosis, nor ovarian endometrioma were found to show an increased pathologic uptake on 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT. IHC analysis confirmed that SST1, 2, and 5 receptors were not present in these lesions.

CONCLUSION: The results observed in this small size series of patients seem to confirm expression of somatostatin receptors only in recto-vaginal DIE and focal adenomyosis lesions. The usefulness of 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT in the diagnosis of this entity is uncertain. Future research should concentrate on studying the role of somatostatin in the pathogenesis of DIE.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app