Interest of Whole-body MRI Correlated to Spreading Sequences for Staging

The main metastatic sites of neuroendocrine tumors can be the liver, the bones, the lungs and lymph nodes. According to the French recommendations (" Thesaurus national de cancérologie digestive "), the initial assessment includes a thoraco-abdomino-pelvic CT-scan and a scintigraphic method (Octreoscan and TEP-scan if Octreoscan negative). The aim is to detect metastases and tumoral progression to offer the appropriate treatment, such as surgery. Due to its high contrast resolution, its absence of irradiation, and diffusion sequences, the MRI is more and more used to detect tumor progression. The recent literature shows better results with the diffusion sequences than the T2-weighted sequences and, potentially, than the contrast-enhanced sequences to detect liver metastasis. The whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI seems promising for the staging and the following of some cancers. Only two publications have evaluated the diagnostic value of diffusion sequences to detect pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and liver metastasis. Yet, no publication has assessed the diagnostic value of whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI in the patients with neuroendocrine tumors.