IMAGE B: A CT scan
+
IMAGE C: A PET scan created with Gallium-68
tandem with PET and CT, is the breakthrough for NET imaging at Fox Chase. Gallium-68 DOTATATE reveals metabolic information about a specific cellular receptor for a hormone called somatostatin. “NETs usually have a higher concentration of somatostatin receptors than normal tissue,” explains Yu. “Therefore, tissues with normal metabolic function appear as ‘background activity’ in the scan, while cancerous tissue — which contains more somatostatin receptors — shows
=
IMAGE D: The Gallium-68 DOTATATE PET/CT, a clearly superior imaging result.
up in higher densities, revealing areas where the cancer has originated and/ or spread.” The new Gallium PET/CT scan is proving enormously helpful for diagnosing NETs, for staging and grading tumors, and for making decisions about treatment. “We are also using the scan to monitor patient response to treatment,” Vijayvergia says, noting that treatment decisions are based, in part, on imaging results. As an added bonus, the new scan takes
much less time than older methods. The old method required a series of scans over three days. Today, three hours of scanning produces far better results. In addition, patients are exposed to approximately two-thirds less radiation than with the old method. According to Vijayvergia, the Gallium PET/CT scan is significantly improving Fox Chase’s ability to care for patients with NET. “It will change the course of treatment for many patients with neuroendocrine cancer,” she says.
SUMMER 2017 | TEMPLE HEALTH MAGAZINE |
39