Developing a Method Using PET-MR to Improve Staging and Monitoring of Neuroendocrine Tumor

euroendocrine tumors (NETs) are neoplasms that originate from diffuse neuroendocrine system which consist about 17 types of different neuroendocrine cells. These cells combine properties of nerve cells with properties of endocrine cells, that is they receive neuronal signal and produce hormones.The most common locations for NETs are the lungs and organs of the gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) system, however they can be found in any other organ in the body . Clinically, functional NET cells secrete hormones which cause symptoms such as diarrhea or flushing, however non-functional NET cells also exist posing a challenge in the identification and diagnosis of the disease . Besides surgery to remove the tumor, there are numerous of treatment options for systemic handling of the NETs. These treatments include: somatostatin analogues, interferon, chemotherapy, transarterial (chemo) embolisation, radiofrequency ablation, sunitinib, everolimus and radionuclide targeted therapy. The choice of treatment depends on the correct characterization of the NET, primary tumor location, tumor subtype, grade and stage of the disease . Biomarkers for NETs serve a critical role in the diagnosis stage, where it is highly important to identify the NET type and precise location. Furthermore, selecting the correct biomarkers for monitoring the disease is important to predict response for treatment and allow the choice of the right treatment from the large variety of treatment options. NET biomarkers include circulating biomarkers such as Chromogranin A, Ki67, Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE), 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA) and many others found in blood samples, or in the tumor tissue . Beside the circulating biomarkers, imaging biomarkers plays a central role in diagnosis, staging, treatment selection and follow-up of NETs . Current imaging tools are morphological modalities such as CT, MRI and Ultrasound and molecular imaging. Several types of molecular imaging techniques are performed to characterize NETs: single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 111In-pentetreotide, largely superseded now by positron emission tomography (PET) with 68Ga-labeled somatostatin analogs, is used to identify the somatostatin receptor status.