New high-resolution imaging scans approved for use in prostate cancer

Imagine trying to find a single match from a book of matches in a large room. Not an easy task, right? But if the lights were dimmed and the match was lit, then its location would be immediately apparent. This is the basic idea behind PSMA imaging, a newly approved method for detecting prostate cancer that is spreading, or metastasizing. The method relies on a minimally radioactive tracer called gallium-68 PSMA-11. Delivered in tiny amounts by injection, the tracer travels throughout the body and gloms onto a protein called PSMA that is found at high levels on prostate cancer cell surfaces. The labeled cells will then light up on whole-body imaging with a positron-emission tomography (PET) scan. Per the FDA’s new approval, doctors can give a PSMA-PET scan to hunt for metastases in men with rising PSA levels after prostate cancer treatment, or if they suspect cancer is metastasizing in a newly diagnosed patient. The scans have unparalleled resolution: able to detect tumors only a few millimeters in size anywhere in the body, they allow doctors to find and treat metastases before they become more dangerous. The pivotal study leading to PSMA’s approval was published in 2019 by collaborators at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, San Francisco. The investigators enrolled 635 men with rising PSA levels after surgery or radiation for prostate cancer. All the men got a whole-body PSMA-PET scan, and suspicious findings were recorded...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Diagnosis Health Prostate Knowledge HPK Source Type: blogs