Clinical application of Fluciclovine PET, choline PET and gastrin-releasing polypeptide receptor (bombesin) targeting PET in prostate cancer

Purpose of review The aim of this review is to explore the clinical application of different PET radiopharmaceuticals in prostate cancer (PCa), beyond inhibitors of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). Recent findings Choline PET represented in the last decades the standard of reference for PET imaging in PCa and has been recently included in clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of metastasis-directed therapy in oligo-metastatic disease. Fluciclovine, as synthetic amino acid, has been proposed for investigating PCa. The results obtained by the first prospective studies led to FDA approval in 2016 in patients with biochemical recurrence. Recently, phase II/III trials explored its accuracy compared with PSMA PET and its impact on patient management. Imaging the gastrin-releasing polypeptide receptor (GRPR) recently drawn attention. Radio-labelled GRPR antagonists have the potential to be used as theranostic agents. Further evaluation is needed to understand the relation between GRPR expression and hormonal-resistant PCa, and for tumors characterized by heterogeneity of receptors expressed (e.g. PSMA-negative) on their cell surface. Summary Other new generation PET tracers may play an important role in PCa, namely in case of PSMA-negative phenotypes.
Source: Current Opinion in Urology - Category: Urology & Nephrology Tags: PET IMAGING IN UROLOGY: Edited by Stefano Fanti and Declan G. Murphy Source Type: research