Whole-body PET/MRI helps stage high-risk prostate cancer patients

In patients with prostate cancer, accurate primary staging is important for developing a treatment strategy. A study published in the December issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine found whole-body PET/MRI may offer a “one-stop-shop” to do so.

In the study, authors conducted a retrospective analysis of 73 patients’ risk for advanced disease by comparing the performance of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/MRI with clinical nomograms. Two traditional prediction tools—the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) nomogram and Partin tables—were used to determine disease risk. Those predictions were then compared to patient’s histopathologic results.

After analysis of a patient’s risk of lymph node metastases, extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion, the team found 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/MRI achieved positivity rates on par with both the MSKCC nomogram and Partin tables.

“Our results showed that PSMA-targeted PET/MRI performed equally well to established clinical nomograms for preoperative staging in high-risk prostate cancer patients and provided additional information on tumor location” said Andrei Gafita, MD, of Technical University of Munich, Germany, in a statement.  “Translated into a clinical setting, the use of this imaging technique for preoperative staging might support treatment planning that may lead to improved patient outcomes.”