Contribution of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT to Target Volume Delineation of Skull Base Meningiomas Treated With Stereotactic Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To investigate the potential impact of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC positron emission tomography ({sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET) in addition to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) for retrospectively assessing the gross tumor volume (GTV) delineation of meningiomas of the skull base in patients treated with fractionated stereotactic radiation therapy (FSRT). Methods and Materials: The study population consisted of 48 patients with 54 skull base meningiomas, previously treated with FSRT. After scans were coregistered, the GTVs were first delineated with MRI and CT data (GTV{sub MRI/CT}) and then by PET (GTV{sub PET}) data. The overlapping regions of both datasets resulted in the GTV{sub common}, which was enlarged to the GTV{sub final} by adding volumes defined by only one of the complementary modalities (GTV{sub MRI/CT-added} or GTV{sub PET-added}). We then evaluated the contribution of conventional imaging modalities (MRI, CT) and {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET to the GTV{sub final}, which was used for planning purposes. Results: Forty-eight of the 54 skull base lesions in 45 patients showed increased {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC uptake and were further analyzed. The mean GTV{sub MRI/CT} and GTV{sub PET} were approximately 21 cm{sup 3} and 25 cm{sup 3}, with a common volume of approximately 15 cm{sup 3}. PET contributed a mean additional GTV of approximately 1.5 cm{sup 3} to the common volume (16% {+-} 34% of the GTV{sub common}). Approximately 4.5 cm{sup 3} of the GTV{sub MRI/CT} was excluded from the contribution to the common volume. The resulting mean GTV{sub final} was significantly smaller than both the GTV{sub MRI/CT} and the GTV{sub PET}. Compared with the initial GTV{sub MRI/CT}, the addition of {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET resulted in more than 10% modification of the size of the GTV{sub final} in 32 (67%) meningiomas Conclusions: {sup 68}Ga-DOTATOC-PET/CT seems to improve the target volume delineation in skull base meningiomas, often leading to a reduction of GTV compared with results from conventional imaging (MRI and CT).