Newer Imaging Tool Showed Promise in Tailoring Care for Prostate Cancer Patients

A five-year retrospective study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that “prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT scans can help doctors target treatment more precisely for men whose prostate cancer returns after surgery, improving long-term outcomes and potentially reducing unnecessary side effects.”

Around 20 to 40 percent of men who have surgery for localized prostate cancer “will see the cancer return within 10 years, often first detected by a rising PSA blood test. When this happens, doctors typically use radiation therapy, which can slow the cancer’s return, reduce the risk of it spreading and improve long-term survival, especially when treatment begins early at very low PSA levels. The challenge is that traditional scans, such as bone scans, CT and MRI, often cannot pinpoint the location of recurrent cancer at low PSA levels.” This can lead to radiation and hormone therapy being used to target areas where it is not needed in the first place.

PSMA PET/CT, a newer imaging tool, can detect “very small clusters of cancer that would otherwise be invisible on standard scans, making it more sensitive than conventional imaging for detecting prostate cancer recurrence and allowing clinicians to see whether the disease is confined to the prostate bed, has spread to nearby lymph nodes, has traveled to other parts of the body, or is not yet visible.” This allows doctors to tailor treatment.

At five years in the clinical trial, “nearly all patients were alive and 72% had no distant spread of the disease.” This suggests “more personalized care is possible for men experiencing recurrent prostate cancer. Patients with limited disease may avoid unnecessary hormone therapy, while those with more extensive disease can receive more targeted and effective treatment.”