PSMA PET/CT Scan Improves Prostate Cancer Detection and Treatment

PSMA PET/CT Scans are improving how the extent of prostate cancer spread is detected and treated. The new technology can identify cancer both in and outside the prostate gland. It especially benefits men with recurrence and at risk of metastasis by helping doctors tailor more effective individualized treatment plans.

Prostate cancer is typically first detected through a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. Traditionally, elevated PSA levels are followed by a prostate biopsy to confirm or rule out cancer. The PSA test is a very good marker for the presence of the cancer, but it can't identify where it is. CT scans and other imaging tests can often appear normal, even when prostate cancer is present outside the prostate gland.

Until now, imaging tests were not sensitive enough to determine if or where the cancer had spread. 

The radioactive tracer gallium 68 PSMA is a molecular imaging marker for prostate cancer. It is injected an hour before imaging, binding to PSMA, a protein on the surface of prostate cancer cells. The cancerous cells are then identified as bright spots on the PET scan, revealing their location on an image.

PSMA PET/CT is sensitive imaging, but more importantly, it is specific. So positive tests are nearly almost always a true positive. This allows physicians to act quickly without necessarily needing to perform a prostate or lymph node biopsy.

PSMA PET/CT is not intended to be a screening tool. Instead, it is for those diagnosed with prostate cancer who have a higher chance of it spreading or who have a recurrence, as indicated by a rising PSA level after initial treatment.

This advancement is much closer to the holy grail of precision and personalized medicine and will significantly impact patient decision-making and treatment options.