Zapanti Evangelia, Ilias Ioannis
First Department of Endocrinology, Alexandra hospital, Athens, GR-11528, Greece.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Nov;1088:346-60. doi: 10.1196/annals.1366.022.
Pheochromocytoma (PHEO) is a chromaffin cell tumor embryologically arising from the neural crest tissue. The dominant secretory products of PHEO are catecholamines: noradrenaline (norepinephrine), adrenaline (epinephrine), and to a lesser extent dopamine. In addition to catecholamines, PHEO cells also elaborate and release several neuropeptides and inflammatory cytokines which can exert intra-adrenal and extra-adrenal systemic effects and cause characteristic clinical syndromes. In a concise review we present the intra-adrenal and extra-adrenal pathophysiologic implications of PHEO and the nuclear medicine modalities that permit functional imaging of physiological processes and help localize these tumors. The specific pathways of synthesis, metabolism, and inactivation of catecholamines (of PHEOs and paragangliomas) can be used as means to develop suitable tracers for positron emission tomography (PET) ligands. In this review we focus on imaging with PET using [(18)F]-fluorodopamine, [(18)F]-fluorohydroxyphenylalanine, [(11)C]-epinephrine, or [(11)C]-hydroxyephedrine and examine how functional imaging can often complement traditional anatomical imaging modalities and other scintigraphic techniques.
嗜铬细胞瘤（PHEO）是一种胚胎学上起源于神经嵴组织的嗜铬细胞瘤。嗜铬细胞瘤的主要分泌产物是儿茶酚胺：去甲肾上腺素（去甲肾上腺素）、肾上腺素（肾上腺素），以及少量多巴胺。除了儿茶酚胺外，嗜铬细胞瘤细胞还能合成并释放多种神经肽和炎性细胞因子，这些物质可产生肾上腺内和肾上腺外的全身效应，并导致特征性临床综合征。在这篇简要综述中，我们介绍了嗜铬细胞瘤的肾上腺内和肾上腺外病理生理意义，以及能够对生理过程进行功能成像并帮助定位这些肿瘤的核医学检查方法。儿茶酚胺（嗜铬细胞瘤和副神经节瘤的儿茶酚胺）的合成、代谢和失活的特定途径可作为开发正电子发射断层扫描（PET）配体合适示踪剂的手段。在本综述中，我们重点介绍使用[（18）F] - 氟多巴胺、[（18）F] - 氟羟苯丙氨酸、[（11）C] - 肾上腺素或[（11）C] - 羟基麻黄碱进行PET成像，并探讨功能成像如何常常补充传统的解剖成像方式和其他闪烁显像技术。
