New imaging method is more effective at detecting prostate cancer recurrence than standard scan

FINDINGSAfter prostate cancer surgery, it is important that patients are routinely screened for a recurrence of cancer. This screening is done with a blood test that checks for the presence of the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. If this test comes back positive, it means that there is a recurrence of cancer. But this test doesn ’t indicate where the cancer is located.Doctors know that the location of recurring prostate cancer after surgery is often in the prostate fossa, the area where the prostate was before it was removed. But in some cases the cancer can be located outside of the prostate fossa, such as in the lymph nodes or in the bones.An imaging technique called fluciclovine positron emission tomography, or Axumin PET/CT, is currently the standard of care in the United States for finding the location of the prostate cancer recurrence. However, another new imaging method exists that is called prostate-specific membrane antigen imaging, or PSMA PET/CT, that can also be used for the same purposes. This scan is currently investigational and has not yet been approved by the FDA.Researchers from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center undertook a head-to-head comparison of these two imaging techniques and have concluded that prostate-specific membrane antigen imaging is more effective in detecting the location of the prostate cancer recurrence.BACKGROUNDAs men age their prostate glands produce increasing levels of prostate-specific antigens. Levels above a certain t...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news