Prospective comparison of whole-body MRI with diffusion-weighted and conventional imaging for the follow-up of neuroendocrine tumors

Aim To determine whether whole-body magnetic resonance imaging is valuable in staging of neuroendocrine tumors by comparison with the conventional imaging defined by the combination of computed tomography and somatostatin receptor scintigraphy. Methods This study concerned the patients included in the multicenter prospective study NCT02786303 with the following inclusion criteria: well-differentiated gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors or of unknown primary, and computed tomography, whole-body magnetic resonance imaging and somatostatin receptor scintigraphy performed within 6 weeks. Results of the conventional imaging were compared with those of magnetic resonance imaging. Discrepancies between the conventional imaging and magnetic resonance imaging were evaluated by reviewing medical records. Results Thirty-one patients (17 men and 14 women) were prospectively included. Complete concordance between the magnetic resonance imaging and the conventional imaging results was observed in 25 patients and discrepancies in 6. Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging detected more liver lesions than the conventional imaging did but standard imaging set was more effective in the detection of bone and peritoneum lesions than magnetic resonance imaging. Detecting more lesions had no impact on therapeutic management. Conclusions Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging including diffusion weighted may be a valuable alternative to computed tomography and somatostatin receptor scintigraphy. Further studies should compare whole-body MRI to the 68Ga PET/CT.