Case report reveals tumor heterogeneity in metastatic prostate cancer, suggesting implications for treatment planning.
De novo small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate is a rare, aggressive malignancy with heterogeneous molecular characteristics. We report the case of a patient with metastatic prostatic small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma that showed variable tracer avidity on triple-tracer PET/CT ([¹⁸F]FDG, [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-DOTATATE, and [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PSMA-11). All lesions demonstrated intense [¹⁸F]FDG avidity, reflecting dedifferentiated biology. In contrast, [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed uptake in only half of the lesions, predominantly in infradiaphragmatic lesions, whereas there was no uptake of [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT across all lesions. This striking discordance highlights the complementary role of triple-tracer PET/CT in characterizing tumor heterogeneity, accurate staging, and planning personalized imaging and therapeutic strategies in such aggressive malignancies.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Bagasariya et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: