PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sampathirao, Nikita
AU  - BASU, SANDIP
TI  - Rare Occurrence Of Hypergastrinemia due to Thoracic Neuroendocrine Tumor: Detection and Characterization by <sup>68</sup>Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT
AID  - 10.2967/jnmt.115.171603
DP  - 2016 Feb 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
PG  - jnmt.115.171603
4099  - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/early/2016/02/04/jnmt.115.171603.short
4100  - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/early/2016/02/04/jnmt.115.171603.full
AB  - Hypergastrinemia is a prominent feature of a segment of gastroenetropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours, the gastrinomas, mostly occurring in the gastrinoma triangle. Hypergastrinemia due to a thoracic NET is a very rare occurrence with paucity of literature elucidating the same. We report a case of thoracic NET who had initially presented with symptoms of peptic ulcer disease of 3 years duration. On evaluation, the fasting serum gastrin levels were raised. Conventional imaging modalities and endoscopic evaluation did not identify the location of possible gastrinoma or any other mass in the abdomen. In view of hypergastrinemia, somatostatin receptor (SSTR) targeted imaging with 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT was undertaken which showed a SSTR expressing paravertebral para-aortic mass (next to thoracic aorta) in the left lung. The mass was excised and the histopathology was suggestive of metastatic neuroendocrine tumour (Mib1 labeling index of 2%). The present case underscores the importance of 68Ga-DOTATATE PET-CT in both detecting and characterizing the causative lesion missed on ceCT, that was not easily amenable to a biopsy.