Nuclear Medicine and Radiological Imaging of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: A Multidisciplinary Update

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (panNENs) are part of a large family of tumors arising from the neuroendocrine system. PanNENs show low-intermediate tumor grade and generally high somatostatin receptor (SSTR) expression. Therefore, panNENs benefit from functional imaging with Ga-68-somatostatin analogues (SSA) for diagnosis, staging, and treatment choice in parallel with morphological imaging. This narrative review aims to present conventional imaging techniques and new perspectives in the management of panNENs, providing the clinicians with useful insight for clinical practice. The Ga-68-SSA PET/CT is the most widely used in panNENs, not only fr diagnosis and staging purpose but also to characterize the biology of the tumor and its responsiveness to SSAs. On the contrary, the F-18-Fluordeoxiglucose (FDG) PET/CT is not employed systematically in all panNEN patients, being generally preferred in G2-G3, to predict aggressiveness and progression rate. The combination of Ga-68-SSA PET/CT and F-18-FDG PET/CT can finally suggest the best therapeutic strategy. Other radiopharmaceuticals are Ga-68-exendin-4 in case of insulinomas and F-18-dopamine (DOPA), which can be helpful in SSTR-negative tumors. New promising but still-under-investigation radiopharmaceuticals include radiolabeled SSTR antagonists and F-18-SSAs. Conventional imaging includes contrast enhanced CT and multiparametric MRI. There are now enriched by radiomics, a new non-invasive imaging approach, very promising to early predict tumor response or progression.

Automated summary

This narrative review discusses the use of different imaging techniques in the management of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (panNENs). Ga-68-somatostatin analogues (SSA) PET/CT is the most commonly used imaging method, while F-18-Fluordeoxiglucose (FDG) PET/CT is preferred in certain cases. The combination of Ga-68-SSA PET/CT and F-18-FDG PET/CT can assist in determining the best therapeutic strategy. Other radiopharmaceuticals and radiomics are also being explored for the management of panNENs.