UCLA, UCSF gain FDA approval for prostate cancer imaging technique

The University of California ’s two nationally ranked medical centers, UCSF and UCLA, and their nuclear medicine teams have obtained approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to offer a new imaging technique for prostate cancer that locates cancer lesions in the pelvic area and other parts of the body to which the t umors have migrated.Known as prostate-specific membrane  antigen PET imaging, or PSMA PET, the technique uses positron emission tomography in conjunction with a PET-sensitive drug that is highly effective in detecting prostate cancer throughout the body so that it can be better and more selectively treated. The PSMA PET scan also identifies cancer that is often missed by current standard-of-care imaging techniques.“UCLA and UCSF researchers studied PSMA PET to provide a more effective imaging test for men who have prostate cancer,” said Dr. Jeremie Calais, an assistant professor at theDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Because the PSMA PET scan has proven to be more effective in locating these tumors, it should become the new standard of care for men who have prostate cancer, for initial staging or localization of recurrence.”A clinical trialconducted by the UCSF and UCLA research teams on the effectiveness of PSMA PET proved pivotal in garnering FDA approval for the technique at both universities. The PSMA drug used in the technique was developed outside the U.S. by the University of Heidelberg.  “It is rare for academic instituti...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news