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Updated: Apr 11, 2026
A Practical Guide for the Production and PET/CT Imaging of 68Ga-DOTATATE for Neuroendocrine Tumors in Daily Clinical Practice
Published on: April 17, 2019
Ectopic ACTH and CRH Co-secreting Tumor Localized by 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT
Georgios Z Papadakis1, Ulas Bagci, Samira M Sadowski
1From the *Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; †Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV), University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL; ‡Endocrine Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; and §Section on Endocrinology and Genetics, Program on Developmental Endocrinology & Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD.
Abstract:
Diagnosis of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) co-secreting tumors causing Cushing syndrome (CS) is challenging because these tumors are rare and their diagnosis is frequently confused with Cushing disease (CD), caused by the effect of CRH on the pituitary. We report a case of a 21-year-old male patient who was referred to our institution with persistent hypercortisolemia and CS after undergoing unnecessary transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT revealed increased tracer uptake in the thymus, which was histologically proven to be a neuroendocrine tumor (NET) that stained positive for ACTH and CRH. Imaging with ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT was not diagnostic.
