Asia Oceania Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology

Asia Oceania Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology

Tubarial salivary glands on PSMA ligands based PET imaging and post 177Lu PSMA therapy scan: reiterating its importance

Document Type : Case report

Authors
Srinivas Ananth Kumar
Anjali Meena
Ashwani Sood
Rajender K Basher
Bhagwant Rai Mittal
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
10.22038/aojnmb.2023.72138.1505
Abstract
68Ga-PSMA PET/CT has been routinely utilized in patients with intermediate to high-risk category prostate carcinoma for staging, biochemical recurrence and before planning the PSMA radioligand therapy (RLT). 177Lu-PSMA RLT has also been approved by FDA as a novel treatment modality in metastatic carcinoma prostate patients who have failed to other lines of treatment. The non-target organs like salivary and lacrimal glands have shown to have high physiological PSMA uptake on PSMA PET/CT. Recently, strong uptake of PSMA ligand has also been noted in the dorsal wall of the nasopharynx in the region of torus tubarius on PSMA PET/CT, which has led to the identification of new pair of salivary gland structures called “tubarial salivary glands”. The clinical significance of these distinct anatomical structures lies in the fact these structures might be involved in a variety of immune related, inflammatory disorders, malignancies and could be a probable organ at risk during radiotherapy in case of head and neck malignancies, causing adverse effects to the patient.
Keywords
Tubarial salivary glands
PSMA, PET/CT, Lu-177 PSMA-617
Subjects
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Asia Oceania Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology
Volume 12, Issue 1
January 2024
Pages 43-45