A study featured in the December issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine has Australian researchers demonstrating how PET scans can identify which of these prostate cancer patients would benefit from salvage radiation treatment. For prostate cancer patients with rising levels of PSA (a cancer indicator), early treatment makes a huge difference.
Significance of the research: "The research is novel because it looks at the impact of PSMA PET/CT on patient responses to treatment, not just on whether the PET scan results in changed management," states Louise Emmett, MD, of the St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia. She continues, "In the study, these patients underwent imaging with a PSMA PET scan and had treatment based on the results of the scan findings. The study then followed how these men were treated, and whether the treatment was effective."
What the results show: The study included 146 men of whom 99 received SRT, and the results show an overall treatment response after SRT of 72 percent. For patients with a negative PSMA, 44 percent (27 of 60) underwent SRT, while 56 percent (33 of 60) did not. The negative PSMA group that received SRT had an 85 percent treatment response (23 of 27), while 65 percent (22 of 34) of the negative PSMA patients not receiving SRT experienced increases in prostate-specific antigen (PSA). For those with disease confined to the prostate fossa (36 of 99), 83 percent (29 of 36) responded to SRT. For men with nodal disease (26 of 99), 61 percent (16 of 26) had treatment response following SRT. The study proves that PSMA PET can independently predict treatment response to SRT.
The studies show that PSMA PET is more predictive of a treatment response than PSA level, surgical margins, or seminal vesical involvement. In addition, while more studies in this area are needed, the results of this study have been important in implementing relevant changes in practice.
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PET / CT of Las Colinas was developed with both patients and physicians in mind and our services have been used for various types of disease; primarily in detecting, staging and monitoring cancer, but also in heart disease and brain disorders.
