Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine skin malignancy usually arising as a nonspecific nodule on sun-exposed areas of the head and neck. Given the poor prognosis of this aggressive tumor, assessment of disease burden in pre- and post-treatment care may ensure an optimal management wit...
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/10/2897 |
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| author | Christos Sachpekidis Polytimi Sidiropoulou Jessica C. Hassel Nikolaos Drakoulis Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss |
| author_facet | Christos Sachpekidis Polytimi Sidiropoulou Jessica C. Hassel Nikolaos Drakoulis Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss |
| author_sort | Christos Sachpekidis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine skin malignancy usually arising as a nonspecific nodule on sun-exposed areas of the head and neck. Given the poor prognosis of this aggressive tumor, assessment of disease burden in pre- and post-treatment care may ensure an optimal management with significant implications for patient surveillance and prognosis. Although imaging has established its role in locally advanced or distant metastatic MCC, a standard imaging algorithm is yet to be determined and respective recommendations are mainly based on melanoma. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is increasingly evolving as a valuable imaging tool in metastatic or unresectable MCC, mostly utilizing the glucose analogue <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose (<sup>18</sup>F-FDG) as a radiotracer. Despite being inferior in detecting the disease in its early stages compared to the “gold standard” of sentinel lymph node biopsy, recent evidence suggests an important role for <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET/CT in the routine workup of localized MCC. Moreover, <sup>68</sup>Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues have been employed as PET tracers in the field of MCC with promising, yet comparable to <sup>18</sup>F-FDG, results. This article provides a structured literature review of the most important studies investigating the role of PET or PET/CT in the clinical practice of MCC. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:45:52Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:45:52Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-86e8f881f06e4b0d9211f9dc3b9f60d02023-11-20T16:28:00ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942020-10-011210289710.3390/cancers12102897Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell CarcinomaChristos Sachpekidis0Polytimi Sidiropoulou1Jessica C. Hassel2Nikolaos Drakoulis3Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss4German Cancer Research Center, Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany1st Department of Dermatology-Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “A. Sygros” Hospital for Cutaneous & Venereal Diseases, GR-16121 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Dermatology and National Center for Tumor Diseases, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyResearch Group of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR-15771 Athens, GreeceGerman Cancer Research Center, Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine skin malignancy usually arising as a nonspecific nodule on sun-exposed areas of the head and neck. Given the poor prognosis of this aggressive tumor, assessment of disease burden in pre- and post-treatment care may ensure an optimal management with significant implications for patient surveillance and prognosis. Although imaging has established its role in locally advanced or distant metastatic MCC, a standard imaging algorithm is yet to be determined and respective recommendations are mainly based on melanoma. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is increasingly evolving as a valuable imaging tool in metastatic or unresectable MCC, mostly utilizing the glucose analogue <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose (<sup>18</sup>F-FDG) as a radiotracer. Despite being inferior in detecting the disease in its early stages compared to the “gold standard” of sentinel lymph node biopsy, recent evidence suggests an important role for <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET/CT in the routine workup of localized MCC. Moreover, <sup>68</sup>Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues have been employed as PET tracers in the field of MCC with promising, yet comparable to <sup>18</sup>F-FDG, results. This article provides a structured literature review of the most important studies investigating the role of PET or PET/CT in the clinical practice of MCC.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/10/2897Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC)positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT)<sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose (<sup>18</sup>F-FDG)<sup>68</sup>Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues |
| spellingShingle | Christos Sachpekidis Polytimi Sidiropoulou Jessica C. Hassel Nikolaos Drakoulis Antonia Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell Carcinoma Cancers Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose (<sup>18</sup>F-FDG) <sup>68</sup>Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues |
| title | Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_full | Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_fullStr | Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_short | Positron Emission Tomography in Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_sort | positron emission tomography in merkel cell carcinoma |
| topic | Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose (<sup>18</sup>F-FDG) <sup>68</sup>Ga-labeled somatostatin analogues |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/10/2897 |
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